


Mirror Mirror

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Category: Smallville
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assumed Character Death, Children, F/M, Grief, Loss, President Lex Luthor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:35:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24172174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Long presumed dead, Oliver Queen causes quite a stir when he suddenly shows up at Lois and Clark's wedding.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan/Hal Jordan, Clark Kent/Lois Lane, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

“And that,” Chloe whispered to her son, hugging him close to her side as she dropped the comic book on her lap, “was how Green Arrow saved the world,” she said quietly, turning to look at him as she finished his bedtime story for the night. The same story he asked for almost every night.

“Read it again, Mommy,” he pleaded, looking up at her with wide green eyes.

Chloe cocked her head and shook it slightly, “it’s your bedtime.” she whispered to him, kissing his temple, “more tomorrow.” 

He pouted. “Just once more?” he asked hopefully.

“Tomorrow,” she promised, hugging him tightly before getting up from the bed, “you need to get some sleep now so we can go to the game tomorrow,” she whispered, arching her eyebrows as she pulled the covers over him.

He sighed a little and turned over so he was facing her. “Okay,” he said, sounding reluctant even as his lower lip stuck out a little more.

She poked at his bottom lip, holding her breath then kissing his forehead, “goodnight, Carter.”

“Night, Mommy.” He closed his eyes, hugging his stuffed bear closer to him.

“I love you,” she whispered to him, pulling the covers higher over him before turning off the lamp and starting to the door.

“Love you too,” he whispered back loudly. 

Chloe smiled softly and stepped out of the room, pulling the door closed most of the way and taking a deep breath before making her way down the hallway and into her office, pressing her thumb against a hidden pad and stepping into the secret room hidden behind a bookcase. 

“Welcome, Watchtower.” The computer greeted. 

“Connect me to the League,” she told it as she walked to the main desk. “Watchtower online.” She told the others once she was connected.

“Lantern online. How’s it going, Watchtower?” There was a smile in his voice.

“Good, Lantern.” She told Hal, “ready when you are.”

“I was born ready,” he said with a smirk.

“Impulse?” She called, shaking her head a little.

“Always ready, Tower.” He answered. 

“Let’s do this,” she pulled up a map, “Luthor should be moving into the White House in the next couple of days, we won’t get another shot.”

“Won’t be too hard,” Hal assured her. “We’ll be in and out before you know it.” 

“Not good enough, Lantern,” she smirked, “you need to be effective too.”

“Snap,” Bart grinned.

“Heeeey. I’m _extremely_ effective!” he protested.

“Get the job done, then brag about it.” Chloe told him, “security down in 3, 2, 1.” She told both of them. “You have thirty seconds.”

Things went radio silent for the next twenty five seconds. 

Then, “Done,” Hal announced.

“Good,” Chloe grinned softly, typing quickly. “Both of you out?”

“I’m halfway back to Kansas already, Tower,” Bart told her.

“See you soon, Blondie,” Hal teased.

“Watchtower offline,” she told them, shaking her head slightly as she closed the connection.

A moment later, Hal flew in the open patio door, grinning at her. 

“Quiet,” Chloe warned, not surprised to see him there as she made her way to the living room, “he’s asleep.”

“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head as he took a step toward her, glancing toward the hall. 

“It’s okay,” she relaxed a little, shaking her head, “are you sure everything went okay?”

“Yeah, everything went fine, Babe,” he assured her, moving closer and resting his hands on her hips. “We’re good.” 

“Did we not have the conversation about the ‘babe’ thing?” She frowned up at him, cocking her head as she placed her hands on his arms.

Hal smiled brightly, raising his eyebrows. “Well, you _are_ a babe?” 

“Keep that up and I will kick you out even sooner than normal,” she warned with a mock smile as she arched her eyebrows at him.

“Ouch.” He ducked his head, kissing her cheek lightly. “Got it.” 

She smiled a little and closed her eyes for a moment, “security is probably all over the place now, as soon as it quiets down again, I want to activate the cameras and microphones to make sure we’re connected.” She told him.

“Good idea,” he agreed, nodding as he wound his arms around her waist. “He do okay with bedtime?” he asked quietly, knowing Carter had been giving her a little trouble lately about going to sleep.

“The usual pouting,” she sighed softly, “but reminding him of the game tomorrow seems to have helped. It’s harder on school nights.” She admitted, lifting her hands to his upper arms.

Hal studied her for a moment, nodding. “You sure you don’t want me to talk to him?” he asked quietly. “I might be able to help.” 

“We will see how Sunday night goes,” she told him, looking up at him. “but thank you.”

He nodded again, meeting her eyes. “You’re welcome.” 

She took a deep breath, “are you coming to Conner’s big game tomorrow?”

“I’d like to,” he admitted, searching her eyes. “Would that be okay?”

“Yeah,” she told him, “you can meet us there. I’m sure it’d mean a lot to Con if most of the team was there. He still feels out of place.” 

“Then I’ll definitely be there,” Hal assured her.

Chloe smiled a little and nodded, “and I’m sure Carter will be happy to see you too.” She told him quietly.

“Yeah?” He smiled back. “It’ll be good to spend some time with him.” 

“Yeah, you can teach him all about Football, because he’s not learning it from me.” She made a face, “and the Kents are probably not the best people for him to learn from.”

“You mean because of the whole invincibility issue?” he teased. 

“Oh, don’t worry about being knocked down, Carter. Just keep running.” She said, imitating Clark as well as she could then rolled her eyes. “It’s incredible he hasn’t broken anything yet.”

He grinned involuntarily. “That’s a pretty good impression,” he told her. “But I’m not sure Clark would really say that to Carter. He knows you keep the green stuff around in case of emergencies.” 

“I rather not risk it,” she told him, smiling softly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach the little man everything he needs to know about football. And every other sport under the sun.” 

“Works for me,” she smiled, “although, the one I’m teaching him won’t stop being his favorite anytime soon.” Chloe warned.

Hal smiled faintly. “I wouldn’t expect it to,” he said softly.

“I know,” she said quietly, smiling slightly then taking a deep breath as she pulled away from him. “We should get back in the room, I was to make sure I can test everything as soon as they are out.”

He nodded a little, reluctantly letting go of her. “Mind if I make a quick sandwich and I’ll meet you back there?” 

“There is pizza in the fridge too,” she offered, waving her hand toward the kitchen, “go ahead.”

“Cool. Thanks.” He watched her head away even as he moved toward the kitchen, exhaling slowly as he pulled open the fridge. 

If only getting into Chloe’s heart was as easy as her fridge, he’d be one happy Lantern.


	2. Chapter 2

Lois looked around the slowly-dissipating crowd in the stadiums and rose to her feet. “I can’t believe people are leaving already. That game was incredible!” she declared, looking first at her husband, and then over at Chloe. “Am I right?” She raised her eyebrows. 

“Yeah!” Carter agreed before Chloe could answer.

Chloe squeezed her son’s hand and nodded, smiling, “it was impressive.” She agreed.

He grinned up at her and then let go of her hand, and wrapped his arms around Lois’s legs. 

Lois smiled and leaned down, picking him up. “I missed you, too, Kiddo.” 

Chloe shook her head a little and smiled at Carter, “this is when you tell Aunt Lois that she needs to come visit more often.” She told him.

“Will you?” he asked hopefully, looking at her with wide eyes. 

She chuckled. “You bet,” she assured him, winking at Chloe.

She smiled back at her cousin then held her hand up to Carter for a high five, “good job.”

Carter beamed at her and high-fived her quickly. “Yay!”

Chloe kissed his cheek then pulled back, smiling at him, “so how are things at the Planet?”

“Same as always,” she told Chloe, raising her eyebrows a little. 

“Busy,” Clark cut in, smiling softly as he looked from Chloe to Carter.

“Busy is good,” she told them, looking up at Clark, “and I heard Conner has been keeping you busy too.”

He drew in a breath, nodding a little. “I don’t think I ever realized how hard it was for Mom and Dad raising me.” He lifted his eyebrows. “Or for anyone else to deal with my...uh, attitude.” He gave her an apologetic look.

Chloe grinned at that and arched her eyebrows, “well, if anyone can figure him out, it’s you.”

“Thanks, Chloe,” he said sincerely, moving over and hugging her gently. 

She hugged him back and smiled up at him, “and he’s been doing a great job out there, which means, you’re doing a great job too, Clark.”

“Fortunately we both have good friends to help us through when we need it,” he said quietly, meeting her eyes. 

Lois looked between them and smiled softly. 

“And they will help,” Chloe whispered to him, glancing over her shoulder where Bart, AC and Hal stood.

Clark nodded. “I know,” he agreed, giving her a gentle, friendly squeeze before letting her go.

“Mommy?” Carter called, “when can we see Conner?” 

“As soon as he comes out,” Chloe told him, glancing over at the crowds, “might be a while.”

“He’ll be excited to see you,” Clark told him with a soft smile, ruffling his hair. 

“Uncle Hal!” He called, stretching a little in Lois’ arms to look better at him.

At that, Hal turned and grinned, then headed over to where they were all gathered. “Hey, Buddy,” he said, holding his arms out.

Carter wiggled until his aunt let him go and Hal picked him up, “can you still teach me how to play like Con?” He asked, his eyes wide.

“You bet,” he agreed, nodding. “And how about we get Con to help, too?” he suggested.

His eyes widened even more and he nodded, “yeah!” He agreed then paused, “but Con lives _so_ far away.” 

“Well, you know how I promised to visit more often?” Lois asked, raising her eyebrows. “Con could just come with me.” 

When Carter turned to look at her questioningly, Chloe nodded at him, “I think that would be awesome, we could all go to the beach together too.”

“Most definitely the beach,” Lois agreed quickly, glancing at Clark. 

“Once the season is over, we could take a long weekend.” Clark told Lois, arching his eyebrows.

Lois draped her arm around Chloe’s shoulders. “And the plan keeps getting better.” 

“Yay!” Carter grinned, bouncing in Hal’s arms. 

Hal chuckled. “What say we go track down the dude selling the corn dogs?” 

Chloe hugged Lois sideways and nodded a little, then looked over at Carter, “hungry, kid?” 

“Yeah!” He smiled, “i want a corn dog with ketchup!”

“Then we’ll get you fed,” he promised, winking at Chloe and then heading away. 

She pursed her lips together as she watched them go then let out a breath.

“You okay?” Lois murmured, glancing at her sideways. 

“Yeah,” she said quietly, “it’s just... Hal has been around a lot and, I don’t know if I should let Carter get attached.” She asked, looking between Lois and Clark. 

She raised her eyebrows a little. “I think he’s already attached,” she said gently.

“I know he is, but he’s five now and, he’s starting to understand more and ask more questions. I just don’t want to confuse him.” She glanced at Lois. 

“Maybe you can start explaining more to him?” Clark suggested.

Lois drew in a breath, meeting her cousin’s eyes. “I understand,” she said softly, giving her a gentle squeeze.

Chloe nodded slightly at Clark then focused on her cousin again, “I guess as long as he’s happy.” 

“He seems happy. He’s got the best mother in the world, so how could he not be?” 

She smiled softly at that and took a deep breath, “thanks, Lo.”

“What are cousins for?” 

Nodding, she hugged Lois against her side again, “should we wait here for Conner?”

“Yeah. He saw where we were sitting,” Clark told her with a soft smile. 

“Alright,” she agreed, reaching for her phone inside of her purse, “are you guys wanting to do dinner somewhere tonight?”

“That’d be great,” Lois said brightly. “What do you feel like?” 

“Maybe Italian?” She suggested, “I think it’s something that would be easy for everyone to agree with.”’

“Perfect,” Lois agreed, nodding.

“Okay,” she smiled softly and nodded too, taking a deep breath as she went back to checking on her phone. 

“Are you working?” Lois asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes a little. 

Chloe pause and looked up from her phone, “I will need to stop by the office while I’m here.” She told Lois, “I haven’t been in a while, but I figured I’d just take care of that before we meet for dinner.” 

She pursed her lips. “How is work?” she asked quietly.

“It’s... going well.” Chloe breathed, “you know how it can get and I’m still not entirely comfortable with everything, but it’s for Carter.”

She searched Chloe’s eyes. “Anymore trouble with the board?” 

With a deep breath, she turned to drop her phone back in her purse, “possibly. I started to take a closer look into Roberts a couple of days ago, I think he could be trouble.” She whispered.

“What kind of trouble?” Clark asked, his voice dropping as he shifted closer to her.

“Leaking information,” she told him, shifting closer too. “He met with a guy named David Coxson. He used to work in a branch of Cadmus a while back.” 

His eyes narrowed. “No wonder you’re suspicious,” he murmured.

“Yeah, any connection to Luthorcorp... I rather shut them out while I can.” Chloe told him, “but that’s all I have for now.”

“Want me to see if I can find anything?” He raised his eyebrows, glancing sideways at Lois.

“I would definitely not mind an ear in Metropolis,” Chloe admitted, smiling a little at him.

“Then I’m on it.” He returned her smile.

“And I’ll keep my ear to the ground, too. Never know what you might overhear over the water cooler.” 

“Thank you,” she told both of them. “I will let you know if I find anything big, but with the launch next month, I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Understandable,” Lois assured her, reaching out and patting her shoulder.

“Speaking of,” she sat up, “I don’t think I need to formally ask my two favorite reporters to cover the event?”

“Wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Clark assured her. 

Lois smiled, nodding in agreement. “Count on it.” 

“Thank you,” she smiled at both of them and nodded, “might be another excuse for you two to spend some time in Star City anyway.”

“We were thinking of doing that anyway.” Lois paused, raising her eyebrows. “Maybe for a long-awaited ceremony...” 

Chloe paused at that, eyes widening as she blinked a few times, “you’re trying again?”

“Sixth time might be the charm?” 

Clark ducked his head, smiling a little. “It’s what we’re hoping anyway.” 

“Alright,” she nodded, “give me a date and I’ll coordinate with the others so we can make sure _you_ ” she pointed at Clark, “are available.”

“The tenth,” Lois volunteered. “We’re both off that day, so no one would be suspicious.” 

“I’ll take care of that,” Chloe promised, “anything else you guys need help with?”

“Just for you to be there. Quick and easy,” Lois raised her eyebrows. “Might be the only way I can make this one an honest man.” She playfully punched Clark’s arm. 

Clark shook his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, “I’ve tried.” 

“Five times already,” Chloe agreed with a smirk.

“Sixth time is our time. I feel it,” Lois told them, smirking, too.

“I hope so, Lo.” She told her cousin, reaching for her hand and squeezing it then smiling at Clark.

Clark looked between them and smiled softly. Somehow it almost felt like the good old days again.

* * *

A few days later, Chloe and Carter were already back home in Star City and after a particularly busy morning of her dragging him around with her while she worked, she figured he could use some actual play time. 

After picking up a few of his favorite toys, she took him to a park not far from their apartment and continued her research on Roberts while he played a couple of feet away, with a few other kids. It wasn’t as safe to research from there, but at least Carter looked like he was having fun.

Hal had been out for an afternoon jog when he spotted them, a smile touching his mouth. He didn’t think twice before heading over to the bench she was seated on, removing the earbuds from his ears. “Hey, Blondie.” 

Chloe paused and looked up from her tablet, cocking her head when she saw him, “hey,” she greeted, surprised, “what are you doing here?”

“Making your day better,” he teased, dropping down beside her. 

She smiled a little and shook her head, “funny, I could swear you were jogging.”

“Well, I was,” he admitted, grinning a bit more when she smiled. “But then I saw you here and everything changed.” 

“Changing objects mid-mission is dangerous, you know that.” She teased.

“Well, you know me. I thrive on danger.” He winked at her, and then glanced over to where Carter was playing. “Looks like he’s having fun.” 

“Yeah,” her face softened as she looked over at her son too, “I was in and out of meetings all morning and dragging him with me, I figured I owed him.”

Hal glanced at her sideways, pausing. “You know, if you were interested, I’d be cool with looking after him when you needed to work on something.” 

“Thank you,” she nodded, “with the launch coming up, I might take you up on that.”

“Cool.” He smiled, leaning back against the bench. 

“How did it go last night?” She asked, glancing at him.

“Without a hitch,” he told her, nodding. 

“Good,” she smiled and nodded, “I know you hate work functions.”

“Yeah, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?” He was quiet for a moment. “Would have been more interesting if I’d had a certain beautiful blonde on my arm.” 

Chloe looked at him for a moment then shook her head slightly, “I’m sure you would have been able to find one if you had looked.”

“Yeah. But the one I’m talking about turned me down.” He arched his eyebrows.

“Hal.” She warned, arching her eyebrows back at him.

He gave her a knowing look. 

“I’ve told you before it won’t happen,” she said quietly, looking at him for a moment then at Carter.

He followed her gaze to the little boy, who was happily building a sand castle in the sand box. “Because of Carter?” His voice grew more quiet. 

“Because I’m not moving on.” She said without looking at him.

“Chloe...” Hal drew in a breath and shook his head. “I’m not trying to replace him.” 

“I know,” she took a deep breath too, “but its not fair to you.”

“You’re worrying too much about me,” he told her seriously. 

“I’m being honest with you.” She corrected him.

Hal turned his body so he was facing her. “Shouldn’t I get to be the one who decides what’s fair to _me_?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You still seem to think this will go somewhere,” she said calmly, “it won’t.”

He studied her. “Do you think this is what Ollie would want for you?” His voice grew quiet. 

Chloe stilled at that and shook her head, “it doesn’t change things.”

“If things were different, if you had been the one to...” His voice trailed off and he looked away. “Would you want Oliver to be this way?” 

“Don’t,” she whispered to him, then was silent for a moment, “I care about you. And I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me and Carter but... Ollie was it for me, Hal. There is no moving on from that.”

“This isn’t about me,” he said just as quietly. “It’s never been about me.” He reached out and rested his hand on top of hers, gazing at her. “I care about you, too. And Carter. But I can see how unhappy you are. I’m not saying that I’m the answer to that.” He shook his head a little. “I just know that Ollie wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of your life alone and sad. So even if it’s not with me...maybe you should try to be more open to the possibilities.” 

“I’m not alone,” she told him, taking a deep breath as she glanced over to him. “I have Carter and you. Lois, Clark and the team. That’s all I need.”

Hal’s smile was sad, but he simply nodded. He knew when to throw in the metaphorical towel. At least for the time being. “All right.” 

Chloe looked at him then looked over at her son once more as she leaned back against her seat. She had to have this same conversation with at least one of them every couple of months or so, she wished they would just accept things for what they were like she had.

“What do you say the three of us do a pizza and movie night?” he suggested. 

“Yeah,” she nodded, sitting up. “Probably need to get him to go home soon.”

“It is getting kind of late,” he agreed.

“Do you want to just head back with us?” She invited. She did like having him around, as long as he understood.

“Actually, I should probably shower and head over after,” he said with a small smile. “I can grab the pizza and videos on the way.” 

“That works,” she agreed, “I do need to bathe him before dinner.”

“All right. Then I’ll see you in about an hour or so?” He rose to his feet, holding his hand out to help her up.

“Yeah,” she took his hand and stood, “see you later.”

Hal gave her hand a light squeeze before heading back toward the road, sighing softly. 

Chloe watched him for a long moment then took a deep breath and picked up her things before starting over to Carter, hopefully the promise of pizza and Hal would make it easier to pull him out of play time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe reached down and adjusted Carter’s tie, smiling at him, “are you ready?” She asked him, as she took his hand.

He looked up at her, and then down at the pillow in his hand that had two wedding rings attached, pursing his lips. “Mommy?” 

“Yeah?” She said quietly, watching him closely.

His eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not a bear.” 

She paused for a moment as she pursed her lips together so she wouldn’t laugh, “of course not, Carter. You’re the ring bearer.” 

He looked confused. “Huh?” 

“It just means you’re the one who has the most important job in the wedding,” she explained, cupping his cheek, “you get to carry the rings to Aunt Lois and Uncle Clark.”

Carter cocked his head to the side, nodding a little. “Okay.” 

“Bearer just means you get to carry it,” she explained, smiling softly as she watched him closely.

“Oh.” He smiled back at her. “I get it now!” 

Chloe smiled back at him, “alright,” she took his hand again and lifted it so the pillow was in both of his hands, “let’s go in.”

He nodded solemnly, following her into the chapel, and carefully balancing the pillow in his hands.

She watched him closely and smiled softly, brushing her hand over his back as they walked in. There weren’t many people there, just a few of the League members as the others kept watch over the world, so they could be sure that Clark wouldn’t have to go answer to an emergency this time.

Hal lifted his hand a little, waving at them as he rose to his feet. 

“Hi, Uncle Hal!” Carter said loudly, grinning.

“Shh,” she told Carter, “we need to speak very quietly in here,” she said. “Why don’t you go sit with Uncle Hal while I go check on Lois?”

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, nodding a little as the members of the League chuckled around them. He ran over to Hal. “Hi!” 

“Hi,” Hal smiled, picking him up and sitting him down next to him.

Chloe smiled softly and waved at Hal before making her way back toward the door.

Lois was pacing in the other room as she waited for the ceremony to start. This time she’d gone for a knee-length white dress, that was more business-like than wedding-like and frilly. She let out a breath as she spotted her cousin. “Oh good. It would have been our luck if you’d been kidnapped today.” 

She smirked as she stepped closer to Lois, “I managed to avoid the bad guys for now,” she promised, “you look beautiful, Lo.”

Lois smiled. “So do you.” 

Chloe smiled back and stepped closer, hugging her cousin, “and everything will work out today.” She promised.

“Yeah, I think today’s going to be a good day,” she admitted, hugging her tightly. 

She hugged Lois for a moment then pulled back, “anything you need help with?”

“Just walking me down the aisle,” Lois answered, raising her eyebrows. 

Chloe paused and arched her eyebrows then smiled, “of course,” she nodded, “I can definitely do that.”

Lois grinned, linking her arm with Chloe’s. “Let’s get me hitched.” 

“About time,” she teased, smiling at Lois as she ignored the knots in her stomach, not sure why she suddenly felt nervous.

Not noticing her cousin’s unease, she nodded and the two of them headed toward the church’s sanctuary.

She looked around as they made it to the double doors, pursing her lips together and taking a deep breath before forcing a smile on her lips. “Ready?” She whispered to Lois.

“Definitely,” she said with a nod, a smile on her face as they walked down the aisle, the rest of the League standing up as they walked by.

Clark smiled brightly from where he stood, keeping his eyes on Lois. 

Chloe watched as Hal guided Carter to stand by Clark and nodded slightly at her son, smiling softly as he straightened, obviously proud of himself. That just caused her stomach to tighten more.

“Let’s get started,” the minister began, smiling at Clark and Lois, then down at Carter. “Family and friends, we’re gathered here today to celebrate the joining of two souls, Clark Kent and Lois Lane...” 

She stepped to the side, smiling softly at Carter and discreetly giving him the thumbs up as he held the pillow carefully in both hands.

Carter grinned at her brightly. 

Moments passed by quickly, and Lois held her breath as the minister asked their guests if anyone had any reasons why the two of them shouldn’t be wed, silently vowing to punch them in the face if any of them decided to try and be funny. She looked around at the crowd with narrowed eyes. 

Chloe shook her head and smiled softly, then stilled when the doors in the back of the church started to open, her chest tightening as she got ready to reach for Carter.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Lois said under her breath, freezing when she saw who’d just stepped into the sanctuary, her eyes wide. 

“No way,” AC whispered, his eyes widening as well. 

Her stomach dropped and she felt like all air had left her lungs as she stared at him, her eyes also widening.

Oliver paused as he felt everyone’s eyes on him. He cleared his throat a little and offered them a sheepish smile. “Hope I’m not too late.” 

Chloe’s eyes teared up as she took a step toward him then stilled. She had to be seeing things. It was the only explanation. 

“Please, continue.” He grimaced a little and moved to sit down in one of the pews toward the back. 

With a deep breath, Chloe picked up her dress and started down the steps without thinking about it. She couldn’t think even if she wanted to. 

Carter frowned and looked at his aunt and uncle then started following his mom. 

“Hey, buddy.” Hal called, reaching for him as he stepped closer, “come here with me.”

Carter hesitated a moment, then moved over toward Hal, watching his mom.

“Tell me I’m not dreaming,” Lois whispered. 

“How can it be?” Clark asked Lois, shaking his head a little. 

But Chloe wasn’t listening to them as she walked down the isle, toward the back of the church, her heart racing and her stomach tight as she made her way over to him.

Oliver rose to his feet, arching his eyebrows as she approached, uncertain from the look on her face. “Tell me I didn’t just screw up their wedding a second time.” 

Part of her knew she should turn and check on Lois and Clark, should make sure Carter was okay, but she couldn’t bring herself to take her eyes off him. Because if she did, she didn’t expect him to be there anymore when she looked back. Shaking her head slightly, she lifter her hand to his cheek, holding her breath as it felt solid under her fingers.

His eyebrows furrowed as she touched him like she’d never seen him before and instinctively he found himself shifting closer to her. “Hey, what is it?” 

“You’re really here,” she whispered, stepping closer to him too.

Oliver paused at that, searching her eyes. “Yeah...” 

Her face crumbled and she hesitated before dropping her hand from his face and wrapping her arms around him.

He wound his arms around her in return without hesitation, a worried expression on his face. “Hey, it’s okay,” he murmured. 

“Mommy?” Carter called as he shifted on Hal’s lap, watching in confusion. 

Chloe closed her eyes tightly and held on to Oliver for a moment longer before finally turning to look at the others, and at her son.

“Mommy?” Oliver echoed, startled. 

“It’s okay,” she whispered to Carter and nodded slightly even as her stomach tightened at the tone in Oliver’s voice. 

Hal hesitated and set Carter back down on the floor when he started trying to free himself.

“Chloe, what’s going on?” Oliver asked warily, looking at the little blonde boy now running toward her, gaze shifting to Hal a second later.

With a slight nod at Oliver, Hal looked down then over at the bride and groom. 

Chloe lifted a hand to Carter’s hair as he wrapped his arms around her hips and pressed against her side, then turned to look at Ollie again, “you haven’t been here,” she whispered to him.

He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head a little. “What do you mean?” Even as he asked the question, he couldn’t help his gaze from traveling to the little boy. He looked exactly like her. 

Carter lifted his had and stared back at him, his arms tightening around his mom as his eyes widened.

Oliver swallowed hard and then slowly lifted his gaze to look at Chloe once more, his chest tight. 

She rubbed Carter’s back and took a deep breath, “it’s okay,” she told him again then looked at Oliver once more, “maybe we should talk outside.” She whispered, fully aware that most of her friends were still staring at them.

“What about the wedding?” he murmured, glancing past her to Lois and Clark.

Chloe’s eyes widened a little and she nodded, glancing at her cousin then back at him, “right,” she whispered, her chest tight as she looked at Oliver again. “Promise you won’t go anywhere?”

He met her eyes, nodding just slightly as he held his breath. It wasn’t like he had anyplace better to be. 

Holding her breath, she reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly, her eyes tearing up again as she looked at him, then nodded a little.

He chewed the inside of his cheek as he looked down at their hands and hesitantly squeezed hers in return, wondering what she’d meant when she’d said he hadn’t been there.

Chloe let go of his hand slowly then took a deep breath and looked down at Carter, “are you ready to go give Aunt Lois and Uncle Clark their rings?” She whispered, brushing her hand over his hair as she tried to keep herself together enough to get through this.

He looked up at her wide-eyed, then nodded slightly, looking at Oliver curiously. “Yes, Mommy.” 

“Okay,” she told him quietly then looked at Oliver again, her chest tight as she forced herself to make her way back to where her cousin was.

“What are you doing?” Lois asked, shaking her head. “There’s no way we can continue after _that_.” Her eyes were still wide.

“Lois,” Chloe shook her head a little, “I don’t want you guys to go through this again,” she said quietly. 

Clark looked from Lois to Chloe, “wouldn’t feel right,” he told her.

“Is it really him?” she asked Chloe, glancing past her to Oliver.

“I think so,” she said quietly, looking over her shoulder back at Oliver again. 

Carter frowned, confused and shook his head, “who, mommy?”

“How is it even possible?” Clark asked softly, shaking his head a little. 

Chloe looked down at Carter, her chest tightening even more as he didn’t recognize Oliver, “someone I hadn’t seen in a while,” she whispered to him. 

“I should find Emil,” he said quietly, glancing from Lois to Chloe.

Hal rose to his feet and moved over to where they were standing at the front of the sanctuary. “Why don’t I take Carter while you guys figure out what’s going on?” he offered, kneeling down and picking him up easily.

Carter wrapped his arms around Hal’s neck but turned to look at his mom. 

“Thank you,” Chloe whispered to Hal them leaned in and kissed Carter’s cheek softly, “I’ll see you soon, okay?” 

“Okay, Mommy,” Carter said, nodding a little and hugging her briefly before wrapping his arms around Hal again. 

“Talk to you soon,” Hal said softly, kissing Chloe’s cheek without thinking about it, then heading down the aisle and past where Oliver was still standing, watching them without speaking, his expression unreadable. 

Chloe looked back at Ollie and held her breath then turned to Lois, “are you sure about this?”

She nodded slightly, not taking her eyes off Ollie. “Let’s figure out what’s going on.” 

“I’ll pick up Emil,” Clark told Chloe, squeezing her arm then kissing Lois’ temple before starting out of the church. 

“We can meet back at the penthouse,” Chloe told her cousin.

Lois nodded, leaning over and kissing her cheek. “See you there,” she assured her.

Nodding, Chloe took a deep breath and turned around again, starting back to where Oliver was, feeling dazed as she stared at him.

Oliver was well-aware that everyone in the place was staring at him, Chloe included. Something was clearly not right. 

Not right by a _lot_.


	4. Chapter 4

She hadn’t taken her eyes off him for more than a few seconds on the drive back to their penthouse. It was a bit unsettling. Especially considering how pale she was. But something kept him from reaching out to touch her, even though it was what he wanted most. Some gnawing sense of unease that he couldn’t quite shake. He drew in a breath as they rode the elevator up and he glanced at her sideways as she unlocked the door. “Why don’t you sit? Let me get you a glass of water.” His voice was quiet.

“No,” she said quietly, shaking her head as she started toward the living room, “you should sit down too,” she told him quietly.

“Chloe, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Her chest tightened and she dropped her purse to one of the chairs then looked back at him, “what is the last thing you remember?”

He was silent for a moment. “Going out to get groceries.” 

“When?” She asked quietly, taking a step closer to him.

“A little while ago,” he said, watching her intently, his eyebrows furrowing. “I brought back the stuff you asked for.” He moved over to the counter and pulled out a slip of slightly-crumpled paper, handing it to her.

She blinked a couple of times and frowned, walking closer to him and taking the paper, her stomach dropping as she read her own hand-writing on the paper.

“I didn’t remember about Lois and Clark trying again, but I saw the invitation on the counter and...” He shook his head a little. 

“Oh,” she whispered quietly, looking back at him and shaking her head, “Clark went to get Emil, they should be back soon.” She murmured, staring up at him.

“What’s going on?” he asked, meeting her eyes.

“You disappeared,” she told him quietly, her eyes tearing up again.

He held his breath at that, swallowing hard. “When?” 

“Maybe,” she hesitated, “maybe we should let Emil check on you first, I don’t want you to be overwhelmed.”

“Chloe, tell me,” he said quietly, shaking his head.

She held her breath and pursed her lips together, “you’ve been gone for almost six years, Ollie.”

He blinked a few times, staring at her. “Six years?” he echoed.

Her chest tightened and she nodded slightly, reaching for his hand, “you should sit down.”

“Yeah,” he murmured, slowly sitting down on the sofa.

Chloe sat down too, not far from him but still giving him some space.

“That’s...a long time.” 

“I know,” she whispered quietly, linking her fingers with his as she looked at their hands.

He leaned back against the sofa, staring down at their hands, as well. “I don’t remember that.” 

“You don’t remember anything that happened during all this time?” She asked carefully, looking up at his face once more, her chest tight.

“No,” he admitted, swallowing hard as his gaze rested on the diamond on her finger, and on the silver band above it. 

She held her breath and nodded slightly, “we will figure out what happened to you,” she promised quietly.

Oliver slowly lifted his gaze to meet her eyes again, nodding silently.

Chloe lifted her free hand to his cheek and brushed her thumb over it, “all that matters is that you’re home.”

“I’m not so sure,” he murmured.

She stilled, her stomach tightening again as she dropped her hand from his face, “what do you mean?”

“The little boy from before.” He swallowed. 

Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath, nodding slightly, “Carter,” she whispered.

A very faint smile touched his mouth at that. “Good name.” 

Her chest tightened painfully and she took a deep breath as tears ran down her face, “I hoped you would approve of it,” her voice shook as she looked down.

Oliver reached out hesitantly, sliding his arms around her silently.

Chloe wrapped both arms around him instantly, shifting closer to him on the couch and holding on to him tightly.

“He looks just like you,” he said softly.

She smiled sadly and turned her face against his chest, “I always thought he looked like you.”

He inhaled sharply at that, pulling away so he could look at her, his eyes wide.

Blinking a couple of times, she looked up at him and shook her head slightly, “what?”

“He’s mine?” 

Chloe paused once more and took a deep breath then nodded, “of course.”

“We have a son?” he whispered.

Her eyes teared up again and she nodded slightly, searching his eyes, “he’s five.” 

He held his breath, swallowing hard and hugging her once more, burying his face against her hair.

She closed her eyes and hugged him to her, pulling him as close as she could, “I missed you so much,” she said quietly.

Oliver shut his eyes tightly. “I’m so sorry.” 

“We don’t know what happened,” she said quietly, “don’t be.”

“I’m still sorry,” he murmured.

“I’m sorry I didn’t look well enough,” she tightened her arms around him even more, “I should have found you.”

“We don’t know what happened,” he repeated back to her. “Don’t blame yourself.” 

“You’re alive,” she nodded slightly, “that’s all that matters.”

“And we have a son,” he whispered.

“We do,” she agreed, cupping the back of his head.

He kissed her cheek and then hugged her tightly once more, tensing involuntarily when he heard the elevator. 

“It must be Lois,” she told him when she felt him tensing and pulled back to look over her shoulder.

“Right,” he murmured. “I screwed up their wedding. Again.” 

Her chest tightened and she smiled a little then shook her head, “it’s the sixth attempt, if that helps.”

His eyes widened. “ _Sixth_?” 

“Yeah,” Chloe told him quietly, unable to look away from his face.

“That’s crazy,” he exclaimed.

“Something always seems to come up,” she said quietly, then reached for his cheek again, “at least this time, it wasn’t bad.”

Oliver leaned into her touch, nodding a little and sighing very softly when the elevator doors slid open. 

“Chloe? Oliver?” Lois stepped inside, pausing when she spotted them seated on the sofa. 

“Here,” she called, looking at her cousin over the back of the couch at her.

“Hey, Lois,” he murmured uncertainly, raising his eyebrows. 

Chloe sat up a little as she pulled her arms from around Oliver but reached for his hand, needing the reassurance that he was going to stay there.

He slid his fingers through hers without hesitation. 

“You are a sight for sore eyes,” Lois whispered, her own eyes tearing up. 

She smiled softly as she watched her cousin and nodded, “I agree.”

Oliver drew in a breath and raked his free hand through his hair. “Even though I ruined your wedding? Again?” 

“We have time,” Lois told him, shrugging and smiling, “at least no one got hurt _this_ time.”

“That’s what I told him,” Chloe agreed.

He squeezed her hand gently, then reluctantly released it when Lois moved over to hug him. He hugged her back tightly, smiling a little. 

Chloe watched them and smiled softly too, her chest tight.

When she let him go, Lois shook her head. “Where have you been?” 

He drew in a breath. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. 

“He doesn’t remember anything,” Chloe said quietly, “he didn’t realize time had passed at all.”

Lois stared at him for a moment then looked at Chloe. “Nothing at all?” 

“No,” she looked back at Oliver, “just going to the store.”

“The store?” she shook her head a little. 

“For groceries,” Chloe told Lois, squeezing Oliver’s hand.

Lois blinked a few times. “Oh. That’s...bizarre.” 

“I’m not even sure when I gave you that grocery list,” Chloe asked quietly, looking back at Ollie.

“You were wanting to try and make dinner,” he told her just as quietly.

“Oh,” she frowned a little as she tried to remember, “oh, mac and cheese, right?”

He smiled a little. “Yeah.” 

Her face softened and she nodded, “and the cheese burned to the bottom of the pan and it tasted horrible.”

Oliver paused. “I don’t remember that,” he whispered.

“You don’t?” She asked quietly, glancing at Lois.

Lois pursed her lips, folding her arms across her chest, a worried expression on her face. “Clark’s on his way here with Emil.”

“He should be able to make sure you’re okay,” Chloe whispered, looking back at Oliver.

“And if I’m not?” He drew in a breath and met her eyes.

“Then we will do whatever it takes to get you there,” she told him firmly.

Oliver nodded a little, looking down at his hands. 

Lois glanced toward the elevator when it dinged and opened. She exhaled quickly and moved over to Clark’s side, hugging him. 

Clark paused and hugged her back, glancing down at her, “everything okay?”

“He doesn’t remember being gone,” she whispered almost inaudibly. 

He paused at that and nodded a little, then glanced to Emil. 

Emil was staring at Oliver, and when he realized Clark and Lois were looking at him, he shook himself from his stupor. “Well. If whatever’s happened to you is medically-related in any way, I’ll figure it out.” He moved over to where Oliver and Chloe were. “How do you feel?” 

“Normal,” Oliver told him, chewing the inside of his cheek. “I feel completely normal.” 

“Thank you for coming,” Chloe told Emil, looking up at him. 

“Of course. Happy to be here.” He raised his eyebrows, sitting down on the table across from Oliver. “I’ll want to run some tests at my office here in the city. When would be a good time?” 

“Whenever you need,” Chloe said, “and if you need access to the database for anything, I can unlock the room for you.”

“Great. Why don’t I get to my office, and you can meet me there in say, an hour and a half?” 

Oliver pursed his lips, glancing at Chloe. “Yeah, the sooner the better.” 

“Okay,” she agreed, “we will be there.”

Emil nodded, rising to his feet once more. “It’s good to see you, Oliver,” he said sincerely. 

“Likewise,” he responded.

“Thank you again,” Chloe told the doctor as he made his way back out of the penthouse, then turned back to Oliver, “are you hungry? Or do you want something to drink?”

“Just water,” he told her, rising to his feet. “But I can get it.” 

“Are you sure?” She asked, standing too and holding her breath.

Oliver smiled a little, nodding. “Yeah. Unless you hid the cups.” 

“No,” she smiled slightly, “they should be in the same place.”

Nodding, he made his way into the kitchen, feeling overwhelmed as he moved to the cabinet that held the glasses. 

Chloe took a deep breath and turned to look at Lois and Clark, “you guys are welcome to stay if you want to,” she told them, “but it’s okay if you wanna go home, I’ll call you if something comes up.”

“Maybe we should stay,” Clark said very softly. “Just in case.” 

“If you want to,” she smiled a little, “I will give Hal a call and check in on Carter.”

Lois nodded. “Yeah, good idea. I’m just gonna go change real quick.” She headed toward the hallway.

“Me too,” Clark told Chloe, smiling a little then following Lois. 

Chloe took a deep breath and made her way back to where she had left her purse by the couch, picked up her phone then paused and made her way back to the kitchen, “Ollie?”

He was leaning against the counter, staring at Carter’s drawings on the fridge. “Yeah?” 

“How are you doing?” She asked quietly, glancing at the fridge then back at him.

“Okay,” he told her, picking up his glass of water and taking a drink.

“I’m about to call Hal to check in on Carter,” she told him, lifting her phone, “I was wondering if you wanted me to ask him to bring him by or if you want to wait a while longer.”

Oliver held his breath for a moment, then turned his head to look at her. “I want to see him,” he whispered. “But maybe we should wait.” 

“Okay,” she said quietly, “maybe we can pick him up once we’re done with Emil?” She suggested.

“If you think that’s the best idea.” He nodded, swallowing hard. 

“We can wait to tell him,” she said quietly, “although I’m surprised he didn’t recognize you from the pictures.”

“He thought I was gone, right?” 

“Yeah,” she whispered quietly, “I didn’t tell him much, he’s too young.”

He bit his lip, nodding. “He’s little,” he murmured.

“He’s small for his age,” she nodded slightly, “my fault, I guess.”

A smile touched his mouth at that. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

Chloe smiled at that too and took a deep breath, “guess who his favorite hero is.”

He held his breath. “I’m really hoping it’s not the Blur,” he joked.

She smiled a little more at that and watched him closely, her chest tight, “I’ll go call Hal,” she told him.

Nodding a little, he watched her head away, then rubbed his hands over his face. 

She took a moment to talk to Hal, feeling a little unsettled as she walked back into the kitchen, “I told him I’d stop by to get him tonight, if we get stuck with Emil, I’ll ask Lois and Clark to pick him up.” 

Oliver nodded, pursing his lips. “He’s okay with watching him?” 

“Yeah,” she said quietly, “they get along. He said he’s napping.”

Chewing the inside of his cheek, he glanced at her silently. 

“Do you want to shower or anything before we go?” She asked quietly. 

“I think I’m all right,” he responded.

“Okay,” she looked down and took a deep breath, “why don’t we go into the room then and I can start running tests on you, I’m sure Emil will need?” She asked, shifting. 

“The room?” His eyebrows furrowed a little.

“Right,” she paused, “with Carter, I asked the boys to help me set up Watchtower here, so I wouldn’t need to leave the apartment.” She told him quietly. 

Oliver paused at that. “Oh. That’s...that was good thinking. I mean, not that I’m surprised.” He looked down.

“Thank you,” she told him quietly, “I’ll show you.” 

“Okay,” he answered, pushing himself away from the counter to follow her.

Chloe took a deep breath then hesitated before reaching for his hand once more before starting out of the kitchen. 

He slid his fingers through hers without hesitation, heading down the hall behind her.

She led him down the hall and into the office, glancing at him before reaching for the panel hidden on the side of the bookcase, pressing her palm to it and step back as it slid to the side, revealing the room behind it that looked like a tiny version of the Watchtower in Metropolis. 

“Whoa.” His eyes widened a little and he looked around at all the computer monitors around the secret room. 

Chloe smiled a little as she turned to watch him, “it’s small, but we still do all the team meetings at the Headquarters, so it’s not too bad.” 

“It looks...” He turned to look at her. “Just like Metropolis.” 

“Yeah,” she shrugged a little and squeezed his hand, “minus the couch and the windows.”

Oliver met her eyes, nodding. “What uh--what kind of tests are we running?” 

“I figured just... fingerprint, eye scan, just the basics that we can do here.” She told him, “I mean, I know you are you but...” 

“We need to make sure,” he finished softly.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, holding his gaze for a moment then motioning to the chair by the main desk, “have a seat, I’ll pull up the scanner.”

Oliver nodded, moving to sit down by the desk as motioned, drawing in a breath and letting it out slowly.

She watched him for a moment then smiled a little and pulled the monitor closer to her face, her chest tightening as she moved over to a side computer and stood by the keyboard, “okay, keep your eyes open.” She said quietly as she started the scanner. 

Holding his breath, he did as she said, not blinking until the retinal scan was over.

 _”Identified, Green Arrow.”_ Watchtower spoke a moment later. 

Chloe held her breath at that and let it out slowly, turning to look at him, her chest tight. She didn’t think she’d ever hear _that_ again.

He met her eyes once more, holding her gaze. “Guess I passed one,” he said, his tone light.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, taking a deep breath, “press your palms to the center of the desk,” she told him activating the table scanner too. 

He reached out wordlessly, placing his hands palm-down on the desk as requested. 

The table lit up on the desk and the computer spoke again, _”Green Arrow identification complete. Reactivate?”_

Chloe typed in quickly and the computer spoke again _”reactivation for Green Arrow, complete.”_

He swallowed hard, raising his eyebrows a little. “Is it full proof?” 

“As much as it can be,” she whispered, turning to face him again, her eyes bright. 

His eyes were, too. “Good,” he whispered.

“We already had your information stored in the database,” she said quietly, walking over to where he was sitting, her chest tight, “it would recognize any differences.” 

“What if...” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “What about in the case of a clone?” 

“Your fingerprints would probably be different then,” she told him quietly, “what makes you think that could be the case?”

“Just want to be on the safe side,” he told her.

“We can ask Emil if there is a way to check,” she nodded a little, leaning back against the desk so she was facing him. 

He gazed up at her, his eyes intense. “You are so beautiful.” 

Her chest tightened even more and she held her breath, shaking her head a little. “It’s good to see you again.” 

He bit his lip, nodding a little as he rose to his feet. “We should meet up with Emil.” 

“Yeah,” Chloe nodded a little, swallowing hard as she stood too,“we should.”

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Is it the same place as always?” 

“Yeah,” she nodded, “do you wanna drive?”

“No, that’s all right.” 

“Okay, you sure you don’t want to change or anything?” She offered, starting out of the room.

“No, I just want to get this over with,” he said quietly.

“Okay,” she agreed quietly, heading down the hallway, “hopefully we will get it all done today.”

“Here’s hoping.”


	5. Chapter 5

It had been over three hours since they had gotten there, Emil had pulled Oliver into the examination room a few times and as much as Chloe didn’t want to let him leave her sight, she had forced herself to stay outside for his privacy. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she should. 

She had, in the meantime, asked Lois and Clark to go pick up Carter and bathe and feed him. She knew Hal could do that, but she didn’t want to ask him more than she already was, and she really didn’t want to have to talk to him right then. 

And now she was just waiting for Oliver to come out from what Emil had said was going to be the last of the tests that he would run.

Oliver slowly stepped out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him. Sweat glistened on his skin and he reached up, wiping his forehead off with a towel and paused as he spotted her sitting just outside. 

Chloe stood up when she saw him and blinked, eyes widening when she saw him, “what happened?”

“He had me running,” he admitted.

“Oh.” She relaxed a little and nodded, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured her.

“Do you want some water?” She asked quietly, not taking her eyes off of him.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I could probably use a shower about now, too.” 

“Do you want to go back to the penthouse? Or you can shower by the gym and I can have Clark bring you some clothes?” She offered, watching him worriedly.

“Chloe.” His voice was soft. “I’m all right.” He reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder. “I promise. I just stink.” 

“You don’t,” she answered without thinking about it, “but I will call Clark while you shower, there is no reason for you to be uncomfortable.”

“All right,” he said softly, nodding as he gazed at her. “Thank you.”

“Anything you need,” she told him, holding his gaze.

He raked a hand through his hair, offered her a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, and headed down the hall toward the showers.

Chloe took a deep breath and followed Ollie silently, “Lois and Clark picked Carter up,” she said quietly.

He was a little surprised to realize she was following him. “That’s good.” His stomach tightened. 

“He will probably be in bed by the time we get back,” she told him, looking down.

“Right. It’s kinda late for a kid, isn’t it?” He chewed the inside of his cheek. 

“His bedtime is usually around eight,” she admitted, taking a deep breath.

Oliver paused just outside the bathroom, and turned to face her. 

Chloe stilled and looked up at him, surprised when he suddenly turned, “I’ll wait here.” She said quietly.

“Right,” he murmured. “Okay. I’ll be out shortly.” 

“I’ll call Clark,” she told him quietly, looking down as she reached for her phone.

“Thanks.” He gazed at her a moment longer, then stepped into the bathroom.

She wiped her face as she lifted her head to look at the closing door then took a deep breath, giving herself a moment before calling Clark.

* * * 

They sat there for a while longer, mostly in silence. Chloe had stopped herself from reaching for his hand more than a few times. She was lost in thought when Emil opened the door to the lab, but stood up a second later.

Oliver rose to his feet, as well. “Anything?” he asked hopefully. 

“Preliminary results show that you appear to be the same Oliver Queen that we know and who vanished nearly six years ago.” Emil gazed at him, then shifted his gaze to Chloe. “We’ll know more tomorrow.” 

Chloe let out her breath and nodded slightly, “thank you, Emil,” she whispered, “I’ll have my phone with me. Call as soon as you hear anything?”

“You know I will,” he assured her. “You two should go home. Get some rest.” 

“Thank you,” she said again, sighing deeply, “make sure you get some rest too.”

He nodded, smiled at her, then headed back into his office without another word. 

Chloe hesitated then glanced over at Oliver, “that’s a start,” she said quietly. 

“Yeah,” he agreed, meeting her eyes briefly.

“You ready to go?” She whispered, searching his eyes.

Oliver drew in a breath, dropping his gaze for a moment, then looking up at her once more. “Should I uh--stay somewhere else?” he asked uncertainly.

“No.” She answered instantly, her eyes widening at the thought of him not being around. She held her breath and stared at him for a moment, “why?”

“I just...I don’t want to confuse him. Or scare him. And I don’t want to complicate things anymore than I already have.” 

Her chest clenched and she shook her head slightly, “you didn’t complicate anything, Ollie.” She took a step closer, “and I really don’t want you to be away right now.”

He held his breath as she moved closer to him. “All right. Just wanted to make sure.” He really didn’t want to be away either.

“I don’t want to overwhelm you,” she whispered to stop her voice from shaking, then swallowed hard, “but I can’t risk you disappearing again.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her, reaching out and touching her arm.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded slightly, “okay,” she said quietly.

“Sorry if I scared you.” 

“It’s okay,” she told him quietly, “I’m sure things are confusing for you right now.”

“Mostly because I don’t remember any time passing,” he said softly, looking down at the floor. “Everything feels like it happened just yesterday to me. But for you...” 

“It’s been a really long time,” she said quietly, keeping her eyes on him.

“I know.” His chest tightened at that. “Almost an eternity.” 

“But somehow,” she held her breath, “you’re back.”

He nodded silently, looking up at her again. “Yeah.”

She held his gaze and let out her breath slowly, “we should go.”

“Lead the way, Professor,” he whispered.

Her chest tightened at the nickname and the hint of a smile appeared on her lips, she nodded a little then reluctantly turned away from him and stared toward the elevator.

He drew in a breath, following her slowly, and rubbing the back of his neck. 

Chloe glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was behind her then took a deep breath, trying to tell herself to calm down, that he was alive and back and the rest they could figure out. But she knew it wasn’t so simple.

* * * 

Oliver stepped inside the penthouse behind her, holding his breath as he spotted Lois and Clark seated on the sofa. “Hey,” he said quietly.

“Hey,” Clark sat up, but kept his arm around Lois, “how did it go?” 

“Well,” Chloe nodded, glancing at Ollie, “all results so far seem to be positive.”

Lois smiled. “Of course they are.” She kissed Clark’s cheek, then rose to her feet, raising her eyebrows at Chloe. “He went so sleep about a half hour ago. It was a little bit of a battle.” 

“It has been lately,” Chloe nodded, “I’m sure it was even worse today. Thank you, Lo.”

“Anytime.” She paused, glancing back at Clark. “It’s good practice.” 

Clark smiled and shook his head a little, “he’s a good kid.”

“Well, he takes after his parents,” she agreed, glancing at Chloe once more, then at Oliver. She moved in and hugged them both quickly. “Come on, Superman. Let’s get home.” 

Chloe hugged her back then nodded a little, “thank you for staying,” she told them again, “and I’ll let you know when we get the rest of the results back.”

Clark hesitated even when Lois stood up. “Are you sure you don’t want us to stay? It’s not a big deal.” 

“We should be okay,” she told him, glancing over at Oliver.

Oliver glanced at her, and then at Clark. “Thanks.” 

Lois gave her fiancee a questioning look, but pulled him toward the door anyway. “Come on, I need my beauty rest before my interview with the mayor tomorrow.” 

“Good luck,” Chloe called after them, trying to ignore the fact that the thought of being alone with Oliver was starting to make her nervous.

“Thanks!” Lois called back before they vanished from view. 

Chloe held her breath for a moment then turned to look at Oliver, “are you hungry?”

He shook his head a little. “No, but thanks.” 

She nodded slightly and looked down, unsure of what to do for a moment then took a deep breath, “I need to check on Carter, do you want to come with me?”

“Are you sure--I mean, is that okay?” His eyes widened a little.

“If you want to,” she offered, searching his eyes, “we just need to be careful not to wake him.”

“I think I can handle that,” he whispered, nodding.

“Watch out for toys on the floor,” she warned, trying for a smile then started down the hallway.

Oliver held his breath as he followed her down the hallway, taking note of the small changes she’d made while he’d been gone. 

Chloe paused outside the door and opened it the rest of the way slowly, glancing at Oliver and holding her breath before making her way in.

He glanced around the room, cluttered with toys as she’d warned him about, and pausing when he spotted the toy bow and arrows in the corner close to his bed. A faint smile touched his mouth as he made his way over to the little bed, holding his breathing again as he gazed down at the sleeping child. Their _son_.

She glanced over at Oliver and smiled slightly at the look on his face, then holding her breath, she leaned down and pulled Carter’s arm from over the covers, sliding it carefully under it and pulling the covers up higher around his shoulders.

His chest tightened painfully as the little boy sighed softly in his sleep and shifted a little before settling down once more. 

She let out her breath then leaned down and kissed Carter’s temple softly before slowly pulling away.

He swallowed hard, silently moving back and out of her way as she stepped back.

Chloe looked over at Ollie, trying to memorize the look on his face.

He met her eyes a second later. “We did good,” he whispered almost inaudibly.

“Really good,” she whispered back to him, holding his gaze.

A soft smile touched his mouth and he looked down at Carter once more.

This time, she didn’t stop herself. She reached for his hand once more and linked her fingers with his, holding his hand tightly. 

He squeezed her hand instantly, glancing at her sideways as he shifted closer without really thinking about it. 

Chloe held her breath and lifted her free hand to his arm, squeezing it as she held her breath. 

He turned toward her, sliding his other arm around her and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She closed her eyes and let go of his hand and arm before wrapping both of her arms around him.

Oliver leaned his head against hers for a long time, arms wound loosely around her waist. “We should talk,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” she whispered, nodding a little then looking up at him and nodding to the door.

Not letting go of her hand, he walked with her to the door and quietly stepped outside of their son’s bedroom, pulling the door shut most of the way behind them.

“There?” She asked quietly, nodding toward their room.

He held his breath, looking toward it and nodding silently. “Yeah.” 

Chloe squeezed his hand once more and nodded then started down the hallway, she had relaxed slightly while in Carter’s room, but now she was getting nervous once more.

He was a little surprised to realize that their room looked exactly the way he remembered it. Every detail, except there were now a few more pictures--pictures of Carter, pictures of Chloe _with_ Carter, and pictures of him and Chloe. Swallowing hard, he sat down hesitantly on the edge of their bed.

She closed the door all the way and took a deep breath before turning to face him again, pursing her lips together then hesitantly taking a step toward him, “I’m sure you have questions.”

“How’ve you been?” he whispered.

It was definitely not a question she’d been expecting. With a deep breath she shook her head a little, “keeping busy.” She told him, it was the answer she gave most people.

He bit his lip, watching her closely and nodding.

“I just--” she sighed, shaking her head, “I don’t know. I focused on Carter, mostly, I guess.”

Oliver’s expression softened. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s not your fault, Ollie.” She hesitated then moved to sit on the edge of the bed, “we have no idea what happened to you, but I know you wouldn’t have left.”

“Never voluntarily,” he promised, shaking his head. 

“I know that,” she repeated, “I always have.”

“I wish I had answers,” he admitted, looking down at his hands. 

“We will find them,” she told him, then shook her head, “and it doesn’t matter if we don’t, as long as you’re here and you’re healthy.”

Oliver met her gaze and nodded. 

Her face softened a little and she shrugged slightly, “having both you and Carter here and safe is everything I’ve wanted for the past six years,” she whispered, holding his gaze.

He lifted his hand to her cheek, gently moving his thumb over her skin. “You have it now.” 

Pursing her lips together, she nodded a little, leaning into his touch, “and he will be able to get to know you beyond stories and pictures.”

“I can’t wait to actually meet him,” he murmured.

“I can’t wait to see that either,” she admitted, smiling slightly.

He couldn’t help but smile. “I have a feeling I’m not going to get much sleep tonight.” 

“Me neither,” she watched him for a long moment, “do you want to see some pictures?”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah. Definitely.” 

Her face softened and she nodded slightly, “most of them, you have Lois to thank for,” she admitted as she stood up.

“Because she took most of them? Or she made you send her tons of pictures?” A small smile touched her mouth.

“Because she talked me into letting her take them,” she said quietly, glancing over at him as she opened one of the drawers.

He cocked her head to the side, watching her. “You didn’t want her to?” 

“I was okay with the ones with Carter,” she said quietly, pulling a few albums out of the drawer, “but not so much with the pregnancy ones.”

“Oh,” he said softly, reaching out and taking the albums from her. 

“That’s his baby album,” she said as he took the light green one from her.

He smiled as he opened it, holding his breath as he gazed down at the newborn pictures of their son.

“He was a big baby,” she said quietly, sitting down next to him once more as she looked down at the pictures, “he was born with just over eight months.”

“Wow,” he whispered, glancing at her. “Did it go okay? Was everything normal?” 

“Yeah,” she nodded slightly, “everything was okay. Lois had made me go to the farm, so I was there when my water broke.” She smiled a little, “but I made Clark fly me here so that he would be born in Star City.”

Oliver reached out and slid his fingers through hers, squeezing her hand gently. 

She held on to his hand tightly and held her breath, “he was born in the North hospital, like you,” she whispered quietly, her eyes tearing up.

His chest tightened and he wrapped his other arm around her tightly. “Thank you,” he whispered back. 

She shifted closer and wrapped her arm around him too, nodding slightly, “I’m just glad I’m having the chance to tell you all this.” She murmured.

Oliver kissed her temple. “Me too.” 

Chloe closed her eyes and hugged him closer, “I love you.”

“You do?” His voice was almost inaudible. 

She stilled at that, her chest tight as she nodded slightly, “I always have.” She told him, her voice shaking.

He held his breath for a moment. “What uh--what about Hal?” 

Chloe pause, holding her breath and slowly pulling back from him, “you know?

He didn’t meet her eyes. “I kinda...figured it out.”

She pulled her arms from around him and swallowed hard, “I’m sorry.” She whispered quietly, looking away.

His chest tightened even more, but he didn’t look at her. “It’s okay, Chloe. You thought I was gone forever.” 

“It just... happened.” She told him, wrapping her arms around herself, “he has been around a lot since-- we lost you.”

“Hal’s a good guy,” he said quietly, looking down at his hands. 

“Yes,” she agreed, “but he’s not you.” 

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “But he was there when I wasn’t.” 

“He was there because he lost you too,” Chloe said quietly. “But I told him, I would never love him.”

Oliver glanced at her sideways, his eyebrows furrowing. “But you married him anyway?” 

Chloe stilled at that and blinked a few times, her eyes widening, “what?”

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, reaching out and tapping the diamond on her finger silently. 

Her face fell as she looked down, her chest tightening painfully once more as she shook her head, “you don’t remember.”

“Remember what?” he whispered.

Chloe closed her eyes and reached for the bigger ring, pulling it out of her finger with some difficulty before holding it out to him so he could read the inscription. 

He held his breath as he took the ring from her, all the air leaving his lungs as he read it. “Oh,” he whispered.

“I couldn’t bring myself to take them off, not since you put them on my finger.” She murmured.

“I don’t remember.” He swallowed hard, shutting his eyes as his shoulders slumped.

“I know,” she said quietly, taking a deep breath, “I know.”

Oliver carefully set the picture albums aside and then knelt down on the floor in front of her, his heart beating quickly as he slid the ring on her finger once more. “I love you, too,” he whispered.

She held her breath as she lifted her head to look at him, tearing up once more as she stared at him for a full moment before leaning down and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

He hugged her tightly in return, burying his face against her neck.

Chloe slid down to the floor too and held him as close as she could, sniffing quietly as she turned her face toward him.

“I love you,” he whispered again. “So much.” 

“I love you too,” she said quietly, pulling back enough to kiss his cheek, “that ‘s never changed.” 

“Thank God,” he murmured, turning his face and brushing his nose against hers. “Does this mean I can kiss you?” 

Before she could stop herself, she nodded slightly and pressed her lips against his.

He kissed her without hesitation, pulling her closer to him as they kissed, one hand tangling in her short blonde hair.

Chloe kissed him back for a long moment, tears running down her face even as she broke the kiss for air.

“That’s much better,” he murmured. 

She cupped his cheek and held his gaze, nodding a little. “I missed you so much, Ollie.”

Oliver kissed her softly once more. “I have a feeling I missed you, too.” 

“Wait,” she said quietly, pulling back slightly, “you were right... about Hal.”

He searched her eyes, nodding ever-so-slightly.

“It happened,” she whispered, looking down as she felt a mix of guilt and shame, but couldn’t bring herself to let go of him. “A couple of times. I did tell him that it wasn’t going anywhere, that I wasn’t going to move on but--” her voice shook slightly, “there is no excuse, but I-- just felt less alone.”

“Chloe,” he murmured. “It’s okay.” He reached up and tucked some hair behind her ears.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to him, reluctantly looking up at him again.

“Shh.” He kissed her softly again. “You don’t need to apologize.” 

She kissed him back just as softly as she tightened her arms around him once more, her stomach still feeling tight.

“It’s all right,” he murmured, rubbing her back.

“I love you,” she repeated, cupping the back of his neck and sniffing as she searched his eyes.

“I love you,” he said back just as softly. 

Chloe took a deep breath and looked at him for a long moment, resting her forehead against his, “thank you.”

He smiled a bit, nodding ever-so-slightly and kissed her cheek. “Anytime, Professor.” 

She smiled a little too and wrapped her arms around his back again, playing her head against his chest as she closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat. With a deep breath, she forced herself to relax a little. He knew about the worse already and hopefully, he was going to remain okay with it.


	6. Chapter 6

He woke up slowly, his face buried in her blonde hair as he lay behind her, one arm wound tightly around her waist. He exhaled slowly and then let his eyes drift shut once more. He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and then let his chin rest on her shoulder once more.

She was already awake, in fact, she had barely slept at all. She had just been laying there, next to him. Feeling his warm breath against her neck and the rise and fall of his chest pressed against her back. It was all so incredibly familiar, but she had never thought she was going to feel like this again, so she wanted to take it all in and remember exactly what being with him there felt like. 

She smiled softly when he moved and turned her head to look at him, brushing her nose against his cheek, “morning,” she whispered.’

“Morning,” he whispered back, a soft smile touching his mouth, as well.

Chloe untangled her hand from his and lifted it to the cup the back of his neck, “did you sleep okay?”

“Like a rock,” he confessed. “What about you?”

“I-- rested,” she admitted, turning a little more toward him.

Concern in his eyes, he shifted a little, propping himself up on one elbow to look down at her, cocking an eyebrow.

“I just wanted to make sure you were here,” she whispered, “I’m okay.”

Oliver’s expression softened. “Okay,” he whispered back, holding her gaze.

Chloe brushed her nose against his and took a deep breath, “it’s almost seven,” she whispered quietly, “Carter should be up soon.”

He held his breath for a moment, then nodded slightly. “What should I do?” There was uncertainty in his voice.

“I think once he gets a good look at you, he will know who you are.” She told him, “he adores you already, Ollie.”

“He’ll have a lot of questions,” he said softly. “Won’t he?” 

“Yeah,” she agreed, taking a deep breath. “he always does.”

A smile quirked his lips. “Wonder where he gets _that_ from,” he teased lightly.

“I fully blame you,” she smiled a little, lifting her other hand to his arm.

“Liar,” he said softly, grinning at her and then dipping his head to kiss her nose.

Chloe relaxed even more at that and closed her eyes for a moment, lifting her head to kiss him softly, “I should go check on him before he finds his way here.”

“All right,” he agreed. “Should I make breakfast or something?” 

“He’s used to having cereals unless we are at the Kent’s,” she told him, “but he does love pancakes.”

“Pancakes it is.” He drew in a breath, kissing her once more, and reluctantly rolling out of bed.

Chloe stretched and sat up, looking at him for a moment before pushing herself up too.

“Chloe?” 

“Yeah?” She said, turning toward him again.

“I love you.” He smiled softly.

Her face softened and she smiled slowly at him, taking a deep breath, “I love you too.”

Nodding, his smile brightened and he headed out the door, almost instantly bumping into Carter. His eyes widened.

Carter stumbled backwards even as he looked up, his sleepy eyes widening as he gasped.

“Sorry,” he whispered, his chest tightening. “Are you okay?” 

He swallowed hard then nodded slightly, still staring up at him.

Oliver glanced over his shoulder to Chloe, then back down at Carter, hesitantly kneeling down in front of him, remaining silent.

Chloe nodded slightly at Oliver and took a couple of steps forward but remained out of sight. 

“You’re the man from yesterday,” Carter said even as he took a step back.

“I am,” he said softly, his chest tightening as the little boy moved away from him. “Do you recognize me?” 

Carter stared at him for a moment, then glanced inside the room, trying to look for his mom. When he didn’t see her, he looked at the man again, “you look like my dad.”

He drew in a breath. “What if I told you I was your dad?” he asked softly.

“Mommy said you couldn’t be here,” he told him, frowning. 

“I couldn’t for a long time,” he whispered. 

“Why can you now?” He asked, cocking his head.

Oliver pursed his lips, considering that for a moment. “Because things are okay now.” 

“Are you going to stay?” He asked quietly. 

Chloe smiled a little and took a couple of steps forward but remained in the room.

“Do you want me to?” Oliver asked, searching his son’s eyes.

He considered for a moment then pursed her lips together, “is it true you taught mommy how to shoot arrows?”

A faint smile touched his mouth and he nodded slightly. “It is.” 

“Can you help her teach me?” He asked, eyes widening again. 

Chloe grinned at that and shook her head, holding her breath not to make noise.

“Yeah. I’d like that a lot,” Oliver whispered.

Carter grinned at that and nodded, “okay!”

“Yeah?” He smiled back at the little boy, his eyes hopeful.

He nodded again, smiling up at him.

“Cool,” he said softly. “I was just on my way to make some pancakes for you and your mom. Are you hungry?” 

“Pancakes?” His eyes widened again. 

“The best pancakes I ever had,” Chloe told Carter as she finally made her way out of the bedroom.

Oliver glanced up at her, holding his breath, and then looking at Carter once more. “What do you think?” 

“I want pancakes,” Carter nodded, looking up at his mom then back at him, “can you make chocolate ones?”

“I can,” he assured him, smiling as he rose to his feet.

“And we can help,” Chloe suggested, glancing at Ollie then holding out her hand to their son.

Carter slid his hand into hers, smiling up at her with bright eyes.

She smiled and leaned down, kissing the top of his head and squeezing his hand.

He pulled away a little and looked up at his dad again. “Are you going to live here too?”

He held his breath. “How would you feel about that?” 

Carter shrugged a little, “mommy always makes everyone go home.” He pouted. 

Oliver paused at that, raising his eyebrows a little. “Does she?” A smile tugged at his mouth involuntarily.

“Yeah...” he murmured, glancing up at his mom. 

“Well, that’s because they have their own homes to go back to,” Chloe explained, “Ollie’s home is the same as ours.”

He chewed the inside of his cheek, glancing over at Chloe and then at Carter, falling silent.

“It is?” Carter asked, frowning in confusion. 

“Yeah,” she smiled, squeezing his hand slightly, “he lived here with me, until he had to go away.”

“Are you okay with that?” Oliver asked softly. 

Carter looked from his mom back to him and nodded slowly, still confused.

He hesitated, then held his arms out to Carter wordlessly, uncertain of whether or not the boy would come to him.

After a glance at his mom and getting a nod from her, he let go of her hand and stepped closer to his dad, wrapping his arms around his middle.

Oliver shut his eyes, hugging him back and then carefully lifting him up in his arms. His eyes were bright when he looked at Carter again. “Let’s make you some pancakes.” 

Chloe stepped closer, her chest tight as she wrapped her arms around both of them and kissed each of them on the cheek, “back to our pancake Sunday tradition,” she whispered, looking up at Ollie.

He simply smiled.

* * *

They had just finished breakfast when Chloe heard the elevator, she frowned a little and looked over at it, then at Oliver, “I wonder if Lois and Clark are back.”

He frowned, too, rising to his feet and moving to put his plate in the sink. “Maybe.” 

“I’ll see who it is!” Carter said excitedly and ran off to the door.

Oliver raised his eyebrows and glanced at Chloe. 

“The elevator is finger print locked, I’m sure it’s fine,” she told him, but started after the boy anyway.

Hal had just scooped Carter up in his arms when he spotted Chloe coming into the room. “Hey,” he said quietly.

Chloe held her breath when she saw him but managed a smile anyway, “hey,” she greeted.

“It’s Uncle Hal!” Carter announced loudly.

Oliver paused at the sink for a long moment, chewing the inside of his lip and exhaling slowly, taking his time putting the dishes to soak before slowly making his way to the other room.

“He’s here,” Chloe told Hal then glanced over her shoulder, looking at Ollie before looking at Hal again, “come in.”

“Hey,” Oliver greeted him, nodding and offering him a small smile. 

“Hey,” Hal nodded, slowly setting Carter back down, “good to see you, man.”

“Likewise. It’s been awhile.” He raised his eyebrows. 

“Yeah,” Hal smirked, “you could say that.” 

Chloe held her breath and looked between the two of them, then focused on Ollie, “maybe you two need some time?”

Oliver’s expression softened as he turned to look at her, nodding ever-so-slightly. 

She nodded a little and let out her breath, holding her hand out, “come on, Carter.” She called quietly.

“No, I wanna stay!” He pouted. 

“We will come see them soon, but they need to talk now.” She explained but reached for his hand, “let’s go get your bow and arrow ready.”

Oliver ruffled his hair lightly and glanced at Hal once more.

Hal watched as Chloe pulled Carter from the room and shifted uncomfortably. “How are you feeling?” 

“I feel fine,” he admitted quietly, letting out a breath. 

“Good,” he nodded, “and I guess you know about Carter?”

Oliver gave a short nod. “Yeah. He uh--he looks just like her.” 

“And you,” he slid his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t remember anything,” he confessed. 

“Anything of what?” Hal frowned, looking at him once more.

“The last six years.” He exhaled, folding his arms across his chest. “I don’t remember any of it.” 

“So you don’t know where you were?” He frowned more, taking a step forward.

Oliver shook his head, glancing up at his friend. “No. The last thing I remember was going out for groceries.” 

“Nothing about the mission?” He asked.

He paused. “What mission?” 

“The one you were on when you disappeared.” Hal told him, crossing his arms over his chest.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t remember anything about a mission. Chloe hasn’t said anything about it.” 

“Oh,” he looked down at that, “I’m sure she will fill you in when she thinks you’re ready.”

“Or you could.” He pursed his lips.

“There might be a reason why she hasn’t told you,” Hal reasoned, looking back at him, “you know Chloe has reasons behind everything she does.”

Oliver gazed at Hal for a long moment. “I thought the two of you were married.” 

Hal stilled at that, blinking in surprise, “what made you think that?”

“The rings,” he confessed, raising his eyebrows. “And the way Carter reacted to you.” 

“I was around a lot,” he admitted, shaking his head, “she was pretty lost.”

“Thank you for being here for her,” Oliver said quietly. “For being here for both of them.” 

Hal looked down and nodded a little, “helped me too.”

 _No doubt_ , he couldn’t help but think instantly, glancing at the floor. “Good.”

Sighing, he rubbed a hand behind his neck. “She told you, didn’t she?”

“She didn’t have to,” Oliver responded. “I figured it out.” 

“I was trying to help,” Hal told him, “but she’s an amazing woman.”

“You’re preaching to the choir on that one, Hal,” he said quietly.

“I know,” he sighed, “all I want to say is, I would never get in the way of your family. I’m glad you’re back and I’m glad she will be happy again.”

Oliver was silent for a moment. “But you’re in love with her.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’ll be okay,” Hal shrugged, “I never stood a chance with her anyway.” He said, trying to keep his voice light.

He gazed at his oldest friend in the world for a long moment. “You’ll find the right woman for you, Hal.” 

“Thanks,” he nodded a little, “do you mind?” He motioned, lifting a hand toward Oliver.

He smiled at that, moving over and hugging him quickly. 

Hal patted his back as he hugged him and nodded, “good to have you back, man.” He said sincerely.

“It’s good to be back. Even if I don’t remember where I was.” 

“We’ll figure it out,” Hal shrugged, “if anyone can, it’s Chloe.”

“Yeah.” He smiled a little at that.

“I should let you get back to them,” Hal told him, “just wanted to see you.”

“I’m glad you came by. And you’re always welcome here,” Oliver said quietly. 

“Thanks,” he nodded, “I live in the city now, so I’ll be around.” He promised.

He smiled faintly. “Good,” he said, nodding. 

“Tell Carter I said bye,” Hal told him, smiling before turning toward the elevator again.

“I will.” He followed him partway to the elevator, then paused. “And Hal? Thanks again.” 

“Anytime,” he told Oliver, glancing over his shoulder before disappearing into the elevator car.

Oliver watched him go, a small smile on his face. Maybe things were going to turn out okay despite everything.


	7. Chapter 7

“That was much easier than usual.” Chloe murmured as she closed the door to Carter’s bedroom halfway, “you really tired him out today.”

Oliver smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Hopefully I didn’t tire _you_ out too much.” 

She smiled too and shook her head, “you know better than that.”

“Good,” he murmured, pressing his lips against the side of her neck.

She shivered a little and smiled, turning to face him. “It’s been a good day,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him. 

Oliver nodded a little in agreement, gazing at her in the semi-darkness of the hallway.

Chloe kissed him softly then pulled away, reaching for his hand and starting down the hallway. 

He followed her without hesitation into their bedroom, shutting the door behind them quietly and spinning her around to kiss her before she could even realize what was happening.

She blinked a couple of times and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back a second later.

He smiled against her mouth as he sensed her surprise. “Sorry,” he murmured.

“Why?” She smiled, brushing her nose against his. 

“Didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to kiss you again.” He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“You can always startle me like this,” she told him quietly, smiling and pressing her lips to his. 

He grinned, reaching back and locking their bedroom door just in case. 

“Good thinking,” she grinned, “your son never did learn how to knock.”

“Oh, so he’s my son when his manners are bad and yours when they’re good?” His voice was teasing.

”I had to take all the blame until now,” she smiled, “about time I get to share it.”

Amused, he shook his head, dipping his head and kissing the side of her neck.

Chloe shivered and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer and closing her eyes.

Oliver slowly slid his hands up the back of her shirt, his fingers skimming lightly along her skin, enjoying the way she shivered against him.

She held her breath as she lifted her arms, opening her eyes again and turning her head up to look at him.

He met her eyes, searching them intently. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” she whispered, her chest tight as she held him close once more. 

He brushed his nose over hers, kissing her once more, slowly.

Chloe returned the kiss and reached for his shirt, sliding her hands inside of it and slowly pulling it up over his back. 

Oliver broke the kiss long enough to shrug out of the shirt before sliding his arms around her once more.

She slid her hands down his bare chest, running her fingers over his muscles slowly and holding her breath before leaning forward and pressing a kiss over his skin. 

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, the sliding a hand up and into her hair. 

“I know I keep saying this,” she whispered, kissing his neck, “but I really missed you.”

Oliver shifted, looking down at her, and then pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

She lifted her head and brushed her lips to his, holding her breath.

“Show me,” he whispered.

She stilled at that then stared up at him for a full moment before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard. 

He groaned softly against her mouth, his body responding instantly to her actions. Without thinking about it, he reached down, lifting her into his arms and winding her legs around his waist. 

She groaned quietly as she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer to her, locking her arms around his back too. 

Oliver carried her to the bed wordlessly, laying her down on the mattress and gazing at her intently. 

She reached up and touched his face, holding her breath for a moment before lifting her head and kissing him deeply once more. 

He returned the kiss instantly, his eyes drifting shut as his body molded against hers.

She shivered and lifted her hand over his back, running her fingers over his skin and then stilling. She paused and broke the kiss then pulled back to look at him. 

“What?” he asked softly, sensing she’d paused for a reason.

“What is this?” She asked, running her fingers over his upper back as she lifted her head to look at it. 

His eyebrows furrowed a little and he shook his head. “What do you mean?” 

“Feels like... a scar,” she murmured, shifting under him. 

Oliver paused at that, then shifted so he was sitting up. “I don’t remember an injury there.” 

She sat up too, “turn around,” she asked so she could look. 

Nodding, he turned so his back was to her, holding his breath.

Chloe reached for the lamp, turning it on then sitting up again and stilling when she stared at his back with wide eyes, “Ollie...”

“What? What is it?” His eyebrows furrowed once more at the alarm in her tone.

“Clark’s symbol.” She swallowed hard, her stomach turning, “burned onto your back.”

He blinked, then looked at her over his shoulder. “What?” 

“You didn’t have this before,” she told him, eyes wide as she looked over at him.

He was silent for a moment. “Why would Clark do that to me?” he asked in confusion.

“I don’t know,” she breathed, shaking her head, “I don’t understand. He wouldn’t hurt you and if he had seen you, even under Red K, he would remember.”

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. “Maybe it wasn’t Clark.” 

“What do you mean?” She frowned. 

“Well...we know I’ve been gone for six years. And that I have Clark’s alien symbol burned in my skin. But it’s not just _his_ symbol.” 

“It’s the El symbol,” she whispered, touching the scar gently, “the symbol for his house.”

“So anyone who’s part of his family...” 

“Right,” she frowned, “but Kara has been gone and Jor-El is just a A.I.” She told him, “what are you thinking?”

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, meeting her eyes. “Maybe I wasn’t here.” 

“You think you could have been in another time period?” She asked, shifting closer to him, “or dimension?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time one of us has taken an unexpected detour,” he said quietly.

“No,” she breathed and pressed a kiss to his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him, “I guess it’s a possibility.”

He covered her arms with his, turning his head to kiss her cheek.

“We will figure out what happened to you,” she whispered, lifting her head to look up at him.

Oliver held his breath, nodding a little. “All right.” 

She held him tightly to her then reached for his pants, undoing them, “lets check if there is anything else.” 

“This is not how I envisioned the night going,” he informed her.

“I know,” she whispered quietly, “but we have time.”

Sighing softly, he nodded a little, shifting on the bed and pulling his jeans off, tossing them aside. 

Chloe pressed a kiss to his neck and nodded a little, then stood up and walked until she was in front on him, touching his legs lightly as she looked for any other scars.

“I don’t see anything,” he told her, watching her for a moment. “Do you?” 

“No,” she shook her head and knelt down on the bed, moving closer to him, “we will call Clark tomorrow.”

He was silent for a moment, then he reached out and settled his hands on her hips, gazing at her intently.

She looked down at him and crawled closer before lifting her hands to his face and sitting down on her heels.

Oliver held his breath as he searched her eyes, enjoying the warmth of her body so close to his own. “God, I love you,” he whispered. “You know that, right?” 

Nodding slightly, she took a deep breath and ran her fingers through his hair, “I love you too,” she whispered, “and wherever you were, thank you for coming back.”

“I’ll always come back for you,” he murmured.

“Ditto,” she whispered to him, brushing her nose against his then her lips to his.

He kissed her softly, tugging her closer to him and then leaning down, kissing her collarbone.

Chloe shivered and closed her eyes, pressing her chest to his as she shifted on her legs and wrapped them around him again.

Oliver trailed kisses back up to her mouth before laying back on the bed and gazing up at her, sliding his hands down her back. God he’d missed her and he hadn’t even realized it.

She laid down over him, kissing him deeply but slowly as she stretched out on top of him. She planned on keeping her promised and showing him just how much she had missed him.

* * * 

It had been incredibly hard to force herself to get off the bed the following morning. Luckily they had thought ahead enough that they were both partially clothed by the time Carter came to the door, but Chloe had left her son and husband in bed and had made her way to the office so she could tell Clark what they had found out the previous night. And what Clark had told her in return had been even more shocking. 

She had found the two of them already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, when she finally got over the shock enough to pull herself together for her son’s sake. “Breakfast?” She asked, smiling over at them.

“Omelettes,” Oliver told her, pausing and watching her for a second. “You talk to Clark?” 

“Yeah,” she nodded a little, arching her eyebrows. “I’m running a search.”

“A search on what?” he asked casually, flipping one of the omelettes in the frying pan.

“For work,” she said pointedly.

“Mommy, can I come to work with you again?” Carter asked.

Oliver nodded ever-so-slightly and held out a cooled piece of bacon for Carter, then glanced at Chloe. “Got it.” 

“I’m not going in today,” she told Carter, kissing the top of his head.

Carter munched on the bacon, his eyes wide. “You aren’t?” 

“No,” she said quietly, “I’m staying home with my two favorite boys.”

He beamed at her and popped the rest of the bacon into his mouth, chewing happily.

Oliver smiled, reaching out and tugging her closer to him, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Not protesting that.” 

She leaned into him and closed her eyes for a moment before looking up at him, searching his gaze. They would have to work on some kind of system to talk with Carter around.

Nodding very slightly, he patted the top of Carter’s head lightly. “Hey, Buddy, why don’t you go get your bow and arrows?” he suggested. “So after breakfast we can practice?” 

“Really?” Carter gasped but without waiting for an answer, he slid down from the chair and called “okay!” Already halfway out of the kitchen. 

Chloe let out her breath but didn’t waste time, “Clark saw Tess in Metropolis.”

Oliver blinked. “What? How’s that even possible?” 

“I don’t know, he doesn’t know much yet. She was walking around, looking lost. He will try to track her down again and see what he can find. I’ve set up a facial recognition search for the area he saw her in.”

His heart was beating a little faster. “If it’s really Tess, she’s not the Tess we know.” 

“And she might be the answer to where you were,” Chloe nodded, holding his gaze.

“And if she’s looking lost, she probably really is from some other dimension or time.” 

“We’ll find her.” She promised. 

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. “Okay.” 

“And we will probably need to make our way to Kansas soon.” She whispered, kissing the corner of his mouth, “which might be tricky if we want to keep your being back a secret.”

“Only until we know why I was gone in the first place,” he said softly, cupping her cheek in his hand.

“Okay,” she nodded, leaning into his touch, “I will just tell the board I have a family emergency in Kansas.”

“How are things going there?” he asked, searching her eyes.

“I’ve been keeping a close eye on things,” she said quietly, “we might have issues with one of the board members, but nothing that can’t wait.” 

He nodded a little, kissing her cheek. “All right.” 

She held her breath then turned her head and kissed him lightly.

He smiled softly at the look on her face and kissed her once more before reluctantly turning back to the omelette. 

Chloe let out a breath and turned around to find Carter staring up at them. 

“What were you doing?” He asked curiously.

“Kissing,” Oliver informed him with an amused smile. 

“Something parents do,” Chloe told him, glancing at Oliver then back at their son. 

“It looked funny...” he said, making a face as he approached the table with his bow and quiver in hand.

He chuckled softly and glanced at Chloe, raising his eyebrows. “Your son is odd,” he teased very softly.

Chloe kissed his cheek and smiled before joining Carter at the table, “you are your father’s son,” she told Carter then smirked at Ollie.

He smirked back at her, carrying several plates over to the table and setting one in front of each of them. 

Carter looked oddly between his parents then reluctantly dropped his bow and quiver to the floor and began to eat. “Will I have to kiss girls too?” He asked, making a face.

He bit back a chuckle. “Not for a long time,” he promised. “And only if you want to.” 

“A very long time,” Chloe added, arching her eyebrows, “not until you’re taller than Conner.” 

“What if I’m never taller than Conner?” Carter asked, cocking his head. 

“Exactly.” Chloe smiled at him.

Oliver smirked at Chloe, arching his eyebrows. _Oh, really?_ he thought, amused as he sat down beside her and picked up his fork.

She smiled over at him and shrugged a little before focusing on Carter again, “speaking of Conner, how would you like to go see him?”

“Really?” His eyes lit up. “Yay!” 

“Yeah,” she smiled again at the look on his face, “we are going to Kansas tomorrow or the day after and since we will have to work with uncle Clark, you will get to spend a lot of time with him.”

Oliver smiled softly at the way his son’s face lit up at the mention of Connor. 

“Are you coming too, daddy?” Carter asked without blinking. 

Chloe stilled at the word and held her breath, turning to focus on Oliver.

His chest tightened and he nodded. “Yeah, I am,” he said softly.

She reached for Ollie’s hand and squeezed it, nodding slightly. “He is going everywhere with us,” she explained, turning to Carter again. “That’s how families work.”

“That’s okay with you, right?” Oliver asked him hopefully, his voice still quiet.

“Yeah,” he smiled as he took another bite of his omelet. 

“Good,” he whispered, relaxing back in his chair and squeezing Chloe’s hand.

Chloe squeezed his hand back once more and smiled softly as she went back to her food too, relaxing as well. She always knew they would get along, she just didn’t know it would be this easy.


	8. Chapter 8

“I haven’t been here in a while,” she commented quietly as she linked her fingers with Ollie then lifted her free hand to the elevator panel in the Watchtower for fingerprint scan. They had just dropped Carter off with Conner at MetU after getting into Metropolis the previous night. 

Clark had news to share, apparently, so he would make his way to the Watchtower as soon as possible, in the meantime, Chloe planned on checking in to see if the search she had been running since almost forty-eight hours ago had returned any results.

“Me either,” he said, keeping his voice light as he squeezed her hand.

“When was the last time you remember being here?” She asked quietly, turning to look at him once the elevator had finished the eye scan.

“Darkseid,” he admitted quietly.

She took a deep breath and nodded a little, “sounds about right.”

He pursed his lips as the elevator doors slid open. “Not the most pleasant of memories.” 

“No,” she breathed and squeezed his hand as they made their way out of the elevator, “but things turned out okay for the most part.”

He cocked his head to look at her. “Minus me ruining the wedding?” 

“Well, I was thinking about Tess...” she admitted quietly, “of course that was entirely Lex’s fault.”

Oliver winced. “Right.” He looked away, sighing very softly.

“It’s been a long time, Ollie,” she told him, squeezing his hand. “Even if it doesn’t feel that way for you.”

He nodded a little, but didn’t look at her. “Yeah, I know.” 

“And you still blame yourself for it,” she whispered, cocking her head to look at him.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, shrugging a little.

“It was never your fault,” she whispered, letting go of his hand and wrapping her arm around him, pulling him to her side even as she unlocked the double doors.

“You’re biased,” he whispered back, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Maybe,” she said quietly, “but Lex is still responsible for it. Even if he doesn’t remember it.”

“And he’ll get his,” he said quietly. “Karma has a way of kicking your ass when you’re least expecting it.” 

“Yeah,” she held her breath, “speaking of that...”

He glanced at her sideways. “Yeah?” 

She let out her breath and stopped, turning to face him, “he was just elected president.”

Oliver stopped in his tracks, turning to face her, as well, his eyes wide. “ _What?_ ” 

“I know,” she sighed softly, “we haven’t been able to prove that he cheated his way in, but we know he did.” Chloe told him, “we have successfully bugged the White House, though. And we will be keeping a close eye on him until we hopefully get him impeached.” 

He rubbed a hand over his face. “It seems like things just keep getting worse.” 

“Yeah, there was a big... well, I guess alien invasion is the best way of putting it. We didn’t stop things until even more damage had been done than with the Kandorians and Lex used that against Superman and built a platform for himself based on how dangerous Aliens are.”

“There was _another_ alien invasion?” he asked dubiously, then shook his head. “Nevermind. I forgot it happens like every other week.” He gave a short chuckle. 

“It was the biggest one since Zod,” she breathed, “but for once, they weren’t Kryptonians.” She shook her head, “but that’s over with and it’s not important. Lex seems to be our next big challenge. Again.”

He lifted his hand to her cheek, searching her eyes as he moved closer to her. “We’ll handle him,” he said softly.

“I know,” she whispered quietly, holding his gaze and smiling a little, “we always do.”

Oliver dipped his head and kissed the corner of her mouth very lightly. “Come on,” he murmured.

Chloe turned her head and kissed him fully on the lips for a second before pulling back, “lets focus on Tess first.”

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah.” He squeezed her hand and walked with her into the main room of Watchtower, freezing.

She stilled too, staring at Clark, and then at Tess, who was tied and gagged on one of the chairs, “What is going on?” Chloe gasped.

Oliver’s eyes were wide as he took a step toward Tess’s chair, his heart beating quickly in his chest. 

“Don’t,” Clark warned, shaking his head. “She’s not the Tess we know.” 

“That doesn’t mean you have to _hurt_ her,” Chloe said, reaching for the gag on the other woman’s mouth. 

Tess started kicking her legs as well as she could as she mumbled something that sounded like ‘Oliver’ and ‘help’.

Oliver quickly moved to her side, shooting a glare at Clark as he started to untie the ropes holding her to the chair.

“I didn’t _hurt_ her,” Clark protested. “She started freaking out the second she saw me.” 

Chloe shook her head, “you think those ropes don’t hurt?” She asked, “and we already figured she’s not the Tess we knew.” She told Clark. 

Tess gasped when Oliver removed the gag and stared up at Oliver, “run!” She told him, trying to free herself faster.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly, not sure why she was so afraid of Clark. “No one here is going to hurt you.” He shot Clark a warning look.

Clark raised his hands and took a step back, “I told you, I’m not going to hurt you.”

Chloe shook her head slightly, “what makes you think he would?” She asked Tess.

Oliver finished untying Tess and laid a hand on her arm, gazing at her with worried eyes. “What’s going on?” 

“Are we back?” She whispered, looking up at him, “are we in your world?”

His eyebrows furrowed a little and he glanced over at Chloe, then turned his attention back to the red-head, nodding. “Yeah, this is my world.” 

“And he?” she asked, standing up as she glanced at Clark then back at Oliver, “he’s not my brother?”

“Your brother?” There was confusion in Clark’s voice, and then his eyes widened.   
“No, he’s not your brother,” Oliver assured her, resting a hand on her shoulder. 

Tess nodded slightly and finally turned to look at Chloe, “and you must be _her_.”

Chloe arched her eyebrows at that, “her who?”

He looked between them, pursing his lips and waiting for Tess to answer. 

“Chloe,” Tess said, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Yeah, this is Chloe,” Oliver told her, tensing just a little at the way her eyes narrowed. “My wife.”

Tess nodded slightly and straightened, “so you found her.”

He was quiet for a moment. “The problem is, I don’t remember losing her,” he admitted. 

“It was a side effect,” she told him, “of the system we used to bring you back.”

Oliver held his breath. “So I’ve been with you, in your world?” 

“I was the one who managed to bring you back,” she said, straightening.

“How?” he asked softly, shaking his head.

“Lionel made a teleporter,” she told him, “he wanted to be able to skip universes whenever he felt like, but it didn’t work properly.” 

Chloe took a step forward, closer to Oliver, “and he lost his memory because of it.”

“Is it permanent?” he asked uncertainly, glancing between them.

“He never found a way to fix it,” Tess said, crossing her arms over her chest, “but you seemed to think people here could help you get it back.”

He blew out a breath and nodded a little, chewing the inside of his cheek. “So how did you manage to get here without losing _your_ memory?” he asked curiously.

“I found the mirror.” She straightened and eyed Clark. 

“What mirror?” Chloe pressed, taking another step forward.

“The mirror box,” he surmised. He turned to look at Chloe. “Remember, from a few years ago? Oliver must have somehow been teleported to that world where other me was...not so nice.” 

Chloe blinked a couple of times and looked at Oliver then back at Clark, “I wasn’t around then,” she said quietly. “But I vaguely remember it.”

“Yeah, when the not-so-nice you showed up here and nearly killed all of us here,” Oliver said wryly, rubbing his face and then looking at Chloe. 

She nodded and reached for Oliver’s hand, squeezing it before turning to Tess, “so why did you come?”

“Because I had to. I had no choice. They were trying to kill me.” She eyed Clark warily, then looked back at Chloe and Oliver.

“The other me?” Clark asked, arching his eyebrows. 

“And how can we be sure one of them didn’t make their way here after you?” Chloe asked almost at the same time.

“It can only switch the people of the universe, unless the other is dead.” She paused, glancing at Chloe. “So if this is your Clark and not the one from my world, everything’s fine.” 

She took a moment to consider that then nodded even as she made a mental note to do some research on what happened six years ago. “So you came here to hide?”

“I already destroyed the mirror box,” Tess told her. “So he has no way to get here unless he uses the teleporter or finds some other means. And if he uses the teleporter, he’ll have no memory of the other world.” 

Chloe stared at the other woman for a moment then let go of Oliie’s hand and turned to the main computer, typing quickly a moment later. 

Clark watched Chloe for a moment then turned to Tess, “I destroyed the mirror box here years ago, I thought that would prevent people in your world from using it.”

“Fortunately for me, you were wrong,” she said evenly, not quite looking at him.

Oliver gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Why don’t we get you something to drink?” he suggested, leading her toward the small kitchen. 

Chloe glanced over at Oliver and Tess then looked back at Clark, “we might get more information if you’re not around,” she said quietly.

He hesitated. “Are you sure you two will be safe? We don’t know anything about this version of Tess,” he whispered.

She paused at that and took a step closer, keeping her voice very low, “keep an ear out?”

He nodded slightly, glancing toward the kitchen. “If you need me...” He gave her a nod again and then vanished.

Chloe took a deep breath and turned to the computer once more, typing for a moment longer before starting toward the kitchen. She didn’t know what it was about Tess, but she didn’t trust her anymore than she had trusted their version of her initially. Especially not around Oliver.

* * * 

Oliver sat down on the sofa at Watchtower, letting out a breath as he glanced over to where Chloe was at the computers. They’d gotten Tess settled at a hotel room before returning to Watchtower to wait on Conner to get back with Carter. “Well, I guess we have answers now,” he murmured.

“Some of them anyway,” she said, glancing at him over her shoulder, “I just don’t trust her.”

He chewed the inside of his cheek. “Do you think she’s lying?” 

“I don’t know,” she told him, “I’m trying to match the breaks in the space and time continuum that happened about six years ago to the day you got here and the day she says she got here. Depending on the methods used, we should be able to see a difference or a similarity and we can go from there.”

Nodding a little, he gazed at her for a long moment. “I don’t trust her completely, either,” he admitted softly.

Chloe let out a breath and nodded a little, “good.” She turned to face him, “because she is more of a Luthor than the Tess from here was, and they don’t do anything without ulterior motives.”

“Preaching to the choir,” he told her, rising to his feet and moving over to her, holding his hands out to her.

She took a step forward and took his hands in hers, nodding slightly. 

He squeezed her hands gently, tugging her toward him as he backed up toward the sofa, raising his eyebrows a little and grinning at her.

Chloe walked with him then smiled a little and arched her eyebrows, “what are you doing?”

“Not a thing,” he said innocently.

“You know Conner will be here with Carter soon, right?” She pointed out even as she linked her fingers with his.

“Mmhm.” He nodded solemnly even as he sat down on the sofa and tugged her down onto his lap.

She sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, “so what are you planning?”

He grinned and shrugged a little, winding his arms around her waist and pulling her close, kissing her on the mouth. “I thought we could make out.” 

After kissing him back for a moment, she smiled and pulled away, “you may not remember everything about our relationship, but I’m sure you remember we _rarely_ managed to just ‘make out’. Ever since the very first day.” 

“Well, that’s because I’ve never been able to resist you,” he informed her, meeting her eyes.

“And that works both ways,” she smiled, holding his gaze, “even though I tried.”

“Yeah, but who could resist my charm?” he teased, brushing his nose against hers.

“Well, I don’t want to find out,” she whispered, brushing her lips against his as she held his gaze, “so you can only use it on me.”

Oliver paused at that, raising his eyebrows a little. “You’re the only one I’d ever want to use it on,” he told her honestly.

Her chest tightened a little and she cupped his cheek in her hand, nodding, “I know. And that makes me very lucky.”

“Chloe, I don’t know what all happened during those six years, but...there was never anyone else,” he murmured. “I know that.” 

Her face fell at that and she nodded, sighing softly, “I know,” she whispered, looking down, “and I know I couldn’t even be mad at you if there had been.” 

He cupped her cheek in his hand, lifting her chin so she was looking at him again. “It still wouldn’t have been the same thing as you and...Hal.” 

She stared at him for a moment then shook her head slightly, “what do you mean?”

“You thought I was gone forever,” he said very softly. “But I knew you were alive, and that I had to get back to you.” His thumb brushed gently over her skin.

Chloe leaned into his touch and let out a breath, nodding slightly, “I know, but... it never felt right. I never felt like it was what I wanted, I should have put a stop to it before it really started.”

“Do me a favor?” His voice was even quieter now as he gazed at her.

“Yeah?” She whispered, holding his gaze.

“Let yourself off the hook, Chloe,” he whispered back. “Please. For me.” 

Her chest tightened at his request and she took a deep breath then wrapped her arms around him once more, pulling him close as she nodded slightly, “I’m sorry,” she whispered, nodding again.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek, pulling her closer and cradling her against him as he rubbed her back. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” she murmured, leaning fully into him and kissing his cheek softly.

He smiled, resting his head against hers and exhaling slowly as he leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes.

She laid against his chest and rested her head on his shoulder, pressing her nose to his neck then kissing it softly.

Oliver reached his hand up to stroke her hair. “We should take a vacation.” 

Chloe smiled softly and closed her eyes, “where?”

“Anywhere. Wherever you and Carter want to go,” he murmured.

“I know what his answer will be,” she smiled, kissing his cheek.

“Disney World?” he guessed.

Chloe paused and blinked a couple of times, pulling back to look at him, “how did you know?”

He smiled. “Isn’t that where every kid wants to go on vacation?” 

“I suppose it is,” she agreed, “he wants to meet Goofy there, he met the one in Disneyland and loved him.”

Oliver nodded a little. “We can do Disney World. And then maybe somewhere that’s more for us,” he murmured.

“I’d like that,” she nodded, “and we also need to replace your ring.”

“I’m actually a step ahead of you on that one. It’s being made as we speak,” he told her with a soft smile. 

She paused again and cocked her head to look at him, “really?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I ordered it a couple days ago, after tracking down the receipt for the first one. I told them I wanted an exact replica.” 

“Ollie...” she sat up, “did you give them a name?”

Oliver smiled a little bit, resting his hands on her hips. “I informed them if they dropped that piece of information to any press, I’d sue them and put them out of business.” 

She let out her breath and nodded slightly, relaxing. “Okay,” she smiled softly, “good.” 

“We’re all right,” he assured her, lifting his hand to her cheek once more.

Chloe leaned into his touch and nodded, “Lo said she would have the article ready to print when we were ready,” she whispered to him.

“I think we’ll be ready soon, don’t you?” He smiled softly.

“Yeah,” she agreed quietly, “and timing, it will be really good for business. Both of them.”

He nodded, leaning forward and kissing her softly even as he heard the elevator ding outside. 

She kissed him back for just a moment then slid from his lap to the couch as she turned to look at the door.

“Hey, guys,” Conner said as he stepped through the double doors with Carter in tow, staring at Oliver for a second.

“Hey,” Chloe greeted, smiling when Carter started running toward her and wrapped his arms around her neck a moment later. “Did you guys have a good time?” 

“Conner said I’m really good at Football!” Carter told her.

Oliver smiled at that. “I’m sure you are,” he told his son, glancing at Conner. “Thanks.” 

Chloe nodded as she pulled Carter to her lap then looked at Conner, “did he give you any trouble?” She asked.

“Not at all,” Conner assured her with a smile. “He’s a great kid.” 

Oliver reached out and ruffled Carter’s hair lightly. “Yeah, he is.” 

She smiled and kissed Carter’s cheek, nodding, “of course he is.” She smirked, “thanks again, Conner. We might need your help again in the near future.” 

“Can I go back to the farm with Con?” Carter asked.

“Tonight?” Ollie raised his eyebrows a little. 

“Yeah!” Carter nodded, looking at his dad, “he said the cow had babies and he said Shelby is there!” He told him excitedly. 

“Martha is at the farm?” Chloe frowned, looking up at Conner.

He nodded. “Yeah, she took a week’s vacation.” 

“Oh,” Chloe nodded, looking down at Carter, “not tonight, but we can go visit before we go home, okay?” She promised.

He stuck out his lower lip in a pout and Oliver suppressed a smirk, giving Chloe a look. 

Chloe gave Ollie a knowing look and mouthed, ‘looks like you’, then hugged Carter “We get to go back to the Clocktower tonight and we can order pizza,” she promised.

“And I’ll show you my secret room,” Oliver added.

Her eyes widened at that and she slowly shook her head at Oliver. 

“You have a _secret room_?” Carter asked, looking up at his dad. 

Conner chuckled and shook his head, “I better head back, have a party to get to.”

“Have a good time,” Oliver told him with a smile, then glanced at Carter. “I do. Want to see it?” 

“Bye Con,” Chloe called then looked back at her husband, eyes still wide. 

“Yeah!” Carter said, freeing himself from his mom’s arms and sliding from her lap to the floor.

Oliver winked at her and rose to his feet, holding his hand out to help her up. “Let’s get home then.” 

“What do you have in your room, daddy?” He asked.

He leaned down and picked Carter up in his arms. “It’s a surprise,” he told him with a wink. 

Chloe let out her breath and secured the system, keeping her eyes on the two of them as she grabbed her things. 

“Tell me!” Carter asked, holding on to his dad.

“Patience, grasshopper,” Oliver teased, carrying him toward the double doors and the elevator. 

Carter frowned in confusion. “I’m not a grasshopper.” He said. 

Chloe smiled softly and shook her head, “we should pick up food on the way.”

He chuckled softly, hugging his son gently and nodding at Chloe’s suggestion. “I vote we have a family movie night after pizza.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Chloe agreed, joining them as they made their way to the elevator, “what should we watch?”

“I don’t know. What do you think, Carter?” 

“Kung Fu Panda.” Carter said, looking up at his dad. 

“There might be another one your dad might enjoy more...” Chloe suggested, looking at Carter then smirking at Ollie.

“You mean like Robin Hood?” His eyes were bright and he shot Chloe an amused look.

“Yeah!” Carter agreed, “Robin Hood.” 

Chloe grinned, “the version with the foxes,” she warned her husband, wrapping her arm around him.”

“I figured.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“Good,” she smiled, leaning into him, “didn’t want you to be disappointed.”

“Trust me, I don’t think a night with my two favorite people could ever be disappointing.” 

Carter yawned and rested his head on Oliver’s shoulder.

“Agreed,” she smiled, kissing the top of Carter’s head then Ollie’s cheek.

“Good to know,” he whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

Oliver drew in a breath and glanced around the hallway before knocking on Tess’ hotel room door the next afternoon. Chloe and Carter had gone to visit Martha Kent, and he’d stayed behind to get answers. 

She made her way to the door, gun in hand as she opened the door slightly, then all the way when she realized it was him. “Come in,” She invited, stepping back even as she kept her eye on the corridor.

“I came alone,” he told her, stepping inside the hotel room and raising his eyebrows a little as he spotted her gun.

Tess lowered the gun once the door was locked, “I’ve been reading on your world.” She told him.

“Somehow I have a feeling it’s a lot safer here than your world,” he said.

“Kal isn’t Lionel’s pet,” Tess told him, “but Alexander is president.”

He paused at that, nodding a little. “Right, Lex,” he murmured.

“He may not have Kal’s powers,” Tess told him, “but you said he killed your version of me, didn’t you?”

“He did, but he doesn’t have his memory. Or at least he didn’t have. I don’t know about now,” he admitted.

“Well, you should find out,” Tess told him, “because I want to make his life a living hell.”

A small smile touched his mouth. “Fair enough.” 

Tess nodded slightly, “might be the only chance I get for revenge against my family. Or at least, a version of them.”

He was silent for a moment. “Tess, I’m not sure that that’s the best idea. The whole seeking revenge plan.” He moved over and sat down on the sofa. “It tends to backfire.” 

“What is the worst that can happen, Oliver?” She asked, “he kills me. I can’t go back to where I’m from anyway or I die.” Tess told him, “as long as I take one Luthor with me, I’ll go happy and the mortal one will be easier to get rid of.”

“There’s no reason you have to die,” he said quietly. “At least not until you’re old. You can make a life here, start over.”

“In a place where I’m dead and Lex is president?” Tess asked him, shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”

“There’s already a plan in the works on the Lex situation,” he told her.

“Good,” she straightened, “what is it?”

“There’s a team of people on it.” 

“Your team,” she told him, arching her eyebrows, “if they let him get this far, they are obviously not very efficient.” 

He narrowed his eyes. “We’re not killers,” he said evenly. “It’s not how we operate.” 

“I’m a Luthor.” Tess told him, smirking as she shrugged, “it’s how we operate and if it wasn’t for me, you would never have made it back to your little wife, so you owe me a big one, Oliver.”

“And I’m going to start repaying that favor by _not_ letting you commit murder. You might be a Luthor, Tess, but it’s just a name. It doesn’t decide who you are.”

Tess sighed in annoyance and shook her head, “we have had this conversation before,” she told him. “You may have known your version of me, but you don’t know _me_.” 

“Afraid you’re going to have to refresh my memory, because I don’t remember having this conversation before,” he responded, giving her a look.

“I would,” she told him, “but apparently, I don’t have time because Alexander is already in charge of things here.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, Tess, but waltzing into the White House to have a little chat with your not-brother isn’t exactly going to happen.” 

“Half-brother,” she corrected him, “and don’t you think I know how Luthors work, Oliver? I’m sure I know better than _you_ do.” 

He stared at her for a moment. “How much did I tell you about my relationship with your family here?” 

“Plenty,” she arched an eyebrow, looking at him. 

“Did I tell you that Lionel Luthor murdered my parents?” 

“Yes,” she told him, “and a sob story about how much you and Alexander hated each other in high school.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “Look.” He rose to his feet once more, gazing at her intently. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, or worse, all right?”

“You may not remember it,” Tess said, taking a step forward, “but it’s thanks to me you are back here and now all I want is for you to _stay out of my way_. Is that so hard?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I know you’re not the same Tess that I knew and cared about, but I don’t want to attend another funeral for you.” 

“Don’t worry,” she smirked, “I doubt there will be one.”

“How can you be so cavalier about this?” he asked, shaking his head. “We’re talking about your life, Tess.” 

“I told you,” she straightened, “I would have died if I had stayed there, at least here, I have a chance to get rid of him instead.”

He rubbed a hand over his face, heading for the door without responding.

Tess didn’t say anything else either, just watched him go as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

* * * 

Oliver sat on the Kents’ porch early the next morning, staring out over the fields blankly as he replayed his conversation with Tess in his head, wishing he could remember exactly what he’d told her when they were still in _her_ world. Sighing softly, he leaned against the beam supporting the porch and stretched his legs out in front of him. 

The three of them had spent the night the previous evening, after both Carter _and_ Martha had insisted. As far as he knew, he was the only one conscious because Clark and Lois had left earlier for work at the Planet. 

But it hadn't taken Chloe to notice he was gone from the bed and even with him being back for a few days now, it still scared her to not find him there when she woke up. The fact that his things were scattered around Clark’s old room did help calm her down, however and she made her way down the stairs to try and find him. 

It only took her a moment to make her way out the front door as quietly as possible and she couldn’t help but feel relieved when she saw him sitting there. “Hey,” she greeted in a whisper as she made her way over to him. 

He glanced up at her as soon as he heard her quiet footfall. “Morning,” he whispered back. 

“Morning,” she answered, walking over to him and sitting down next to him on the front steps. 

He offered her a soft smile. “You’re up early.” 

“Yeah, I was missing something,” she said quietly, linking her arm with his as she shifted closer. 

“Sorry. I didn’t want to wake you. You looked too peaceful.” 

“It’s okay,” she said quietly, “what’s going on?”

He shook his head a little, winding his arm around her waist and pulling her against his side. “Just thinking.” 

“About?” She asked as she leaned against his side and let out a breath.

“Tess,” he admitted with a soft sigh, leaning his head against hers.

“Oh,” she nodded a little, “still about last night?”

He pursed his lips, nodding, as well. 

“We will keep an eye on her, Ollie,” she whispered, kissing his cheek softly, “but you know she’s not your responsibility, right?”

“Isn’t she? Kind of?” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “I mean, she’s here because of me. Because she helped me.” 

“She didn’t come here when you did,” she whispered, “and you said she said it herself, if she had stayed, she would be dead.”

“And if we don’t find a way to stop her, that’s going to be the same outcome here, too.” 

“We will do our best,” she promised, “but our Tess proved time and again that she will do what she wants. And you have spent enough time blaming yourself for what happened to her, Ollie.”

He nodded, looking down for a moment. “I don’t want to bury her twice,” he admitted. 

Chloe breathed and nodded, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close, “I know.”

Oliver rested his head against her shoulder, pressing a soft kiss against her shirt. “I know she’s not the same Tess we knew. I do know that.” 

“And we can’t trust her,” she reminded him in a whisper, “but she brought you home and because of that, we will do what we can to protect her.”

Oliver nodded a little, tightening his arm around her and pressing his lips to her cheek. “Thank you for understanding.” 

She closed her eyes and nodded slightly, “all our Tess wanted was a chance to prove she could be a good person, despite the Luthors.” She whispered, “maybe that’s what this one needs too.”

“Hopefully,” he said softly. “And despite who she grew up with, and this tough act she’s putting on, I have a feeling that she’s never killed anyone before.” 

“That’s a start,” she nodded, kissing his temple softly, “I called J’onn last night.”

“Yeah? Does he think he can help me get my memory back?” 

“He will try,” she rubbed her hand over his back, “you seemed to think one of them would be able to. According to her.”

He winced. “I told her about J’onn?” 

“Well, she mentioned someone ‘here’ could help you with your memory.” Chloe reminded him.

“Oh, right.” Oliver glanced at her sideways. “And if J’onn can’t help, I guess I’ll be giving Zatanna a call.” 

“Already did,” she smiled softly, “she is in Vegas so she said she would meet us in Star City whenever we got back.”

He smiled back at her, reaching up and tucking some hair behind her ear. “Should’ve figured you’d be a step ahead. You always have been.” 

“It doesn’t really matter to me if you get your memory back or not,” she admitted, “but I want you to have as much of your life back as you can.”

“I only want to remember the things about us I forgot. The rest....” He shook his head a little. 

“I can tell you all of that,” she smiled softly, kissing his cheek softly.

“I want to remember every moment with you,” he whispered, cupping her cheek in his hand. 

Her face softened and she leaned into his touch, holding her breath, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he whispered. “So much.” 

Chloe smiled and leaned in, kissing him softly, “and you and Carter are getting along so well.”

Oliver smiled at that, returning the kiss without hesitation. “Thankfully.” 

“And he has his dad to grow up with,” she whispered, brushing her fingers over his hair.

“And I get to watch him grow up,” he whispered back. “With you.” 

Her eyes teared up slightly and she nodded, leaning her head against his, “and we will figure anything else out.”

He smiled softly. “We always do.” 

Chloe held him close and took a deep breath, “I can’t tell you how lost I was without you.”

His arm tightened around her again and he kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Don’t be,” she told him quietly, “you’re here.” She told him, “I just know I didn’t tell you enough how much I need you.”

Oliver held his breath. “I didn’t either,” he said softly. “But I fully intend to.” 

She offered him a teary smile then nodded a little, “and maybe some day,” she whispered quietly, “we will actually figure out our lives without having to go through something big that will force us into it.”

He chuckled softly, kissing her temple. “Maybe,” he agreed. “But frankly, I feel like I’ve got everything figured out right now, minus the whole Tess thing.” 

“And we will figure that out eventually,” she told him, smiling as she leaned closer.

“Yeah, we will.” He brushed his nose against hers, then kissed her.

Chloe kissed him deeply, hugging him to her as she did.

Oliver slid his other arm around her, as well. 

“Mommy! Daddy!?” Carter called then stilled when he opened the door and stared at them.

He glanced over his shoulder at their son, offering him a smile. “Hey, you’re up early, too.” 

“You were kissing again,” he said, making a face. 

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yes, we were,” he admitted.

“Come here,” Chloe said, grabbing him so he was sitting between both of their laps then kissing his cheek a few times.

“Ewwwww,” he complained, trying to pull away from her. “Daddy, help!” 

Oliver grinned. “Sorry, Kiddo. No can do.” 

She grinned and kissed Carter’s cheek once more before pulling away, “was that so bad?”

He made a face at her, his lower lip sticking out.

Chloe smiled and tickled him, glancing over at her husband.

He smiled back at her, his eyes bright. Regardless of what had happened in the last few years, he was there now. And he was going to enjoy every single moment with his family.


	10. Chapter 10

By the time Chloe drove them back to Metropolis, everything was chaos. It didn’t take long before they figured out what had happened. A quick phone call to Lois and it all made sense.

President Luthor was dead. And that meant they were too late. 

Chloe drove them straight to the Watchtower instead of the Clocktower and she could only hope Carter was going to be distracted enough by the movies and toys she had there for him, because she was going to have to review that footage. 

“Okay,” she said, taking Carter’s hand as they made their way to the elevator, “your dad and I will need to work for a little while, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy.” He smiled up at her, hugging her legs.

Oliver’s expression was one of worry, unable to concentrate on what they were saying as he was lost in his own thoughts.

“Thank you,” she whispered to him, hugging him as well as she could and smiling softly at him then looking over at Oliver.

As soon as the elevator stopped, Carter ran off to his room to play, leaving Chloe and Oliver alone. 

“I can’t believe she pulled it off this damn fast,” he muttered.

“I have cameras in there,” she told him, “I don’t understand how she managed to get in,” she whispered, powering up the computers.

“I have a feeling there’s a whole lot about her we don’t know,” he said, shaking his head as he watched the computer screens, waiting for the system to boot up. 

“Do you think she’s dangerous?” Chloe asked, pausing as she turned toward him.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I think mostly she wanted Lex dead. And Lionel.” 

“Okay,” Chloe nodded, “let's make sure she made her way out of there first.” She told him, turning back to the computer.

Oliver nodded, too, resting his hand on her shoulder and massaging it gently without really thinking about it. 

She leaned into his touch and started running the feed, “Lois said it happened around five in the morning, right?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “So it would have been...four here.” 

“Around then,” she nodded, glancing over at the stairs where Carter had disappeared to, to make sure he wasn’t watching before pressing play.

Oliver shifted so he was blocking the view even if Carter did step out any second. He held his breath as he watched Tess step into Lex’s bedroom, gun in her hand. “How the hell did she get past security?” 

Chloe’s eyes widened and she shook her head, “I don’t know,” she whispered, watching as the woman didn’t hesitate before aiming the gun at Lex’s head.

He winced as Lex’s eyes widened a little and then he was still. “Jesus,” he muttered, rubbing his hand over his face.

She winced and looked away for a second, then focused back on the screen, switching views to the different cameras, trying to find Tess again, “there she is,” she whispered as she noticed Tess running down a deserted street.

“She made it out alive,” he murmured, holding his breath and glancing at her sideways.’

“ _How_?” Chloe shook her head, “this is the White House, Ollie, they have snipers on the rooftops twenty-four seven.”

“Maybe President Luthor wasn’t as popular as he believed himself to be.” He pursed his lips.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” she whispered, glancing at him, then turning back to the screen, “but something tells me there was something else behind it.”

Oliver cocked his head. “Like what?” he asked curiously.

“I don’t know,” she told him quietly, “some kind of technology we don’t know about.” She guessed.

“That’s a definite possibility considering how she got me back here.” 

“Exactly,” she nodded slightly, then reached for the hand he still had on her shoulder as she turned to face him, “two things we have to thank her for now.”

“You and I may be the only ones who look at it like that,” he said softly, raising his eyebrows.

“And that’s why we will be keeping this to ourselves.” She whispered to him, holding his gaze. “If she managed to run, there is no need for anyone to be after her.”

Oliver met her eyes and nodded slowly. “Deal,” he whispered.

“Sounds like a good enough deal for her?” Chloe asked, searching his eyes.

“Better than she would have gotten,” he said softly, nodding a little. 

“Okay,” she relaxed a little, squeezing his hand, “and if anything comes up, we can see what we can do about protection.”

He kissed her knuckles gently. “No one knows but us.”

“Wait,” she squeezed his hand and let go of it, turning to the computer and erasing the footage that she could access both from her feed and feeds around the White House before turning to look at him, “now we can be sure of that.”

He simply smiled.

* * * 

They flew back to Star City that same night. Tess was obviously no longer in Metropolis and for everyone’s safety, Chloe felt like they shouldn’t be either. She had meant what she had said about doing her best to keep Tess safe but she was only willing to do so much for the woman when it came to her family’s safety and she knew Ollie would be the first person Tess would contact.

Carter was asleep in the back seat by the time they drove to the penthouse and Chloe was glad it was late at night because at least they wouldn’t have to worry about someone spotting Ollie. 

Once he parked the car, she stretched and looked over at him, “good to be home.” She whispered. 

He smiled at her, nodding a little and leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Yes, it is.” 

She smiled back at him and leaned closer, “lets get him upstairs and get in bed,” she said quietly. 

“Sounds like a plan. Do you mind if I carry him?” he asked softly.

“I was going to ask you to,” she smiled, looking up at him, “he’s getting too heavy for me.”

Oliver brushed his nose against hers and kissed her once more, softly, then reached for the car door. 

She smiled softly then got out of the car too, going to the back of the car to get their bags. 

He carefully undid the car seat their son was in and cradled Carter against his chest, carrying him toward the elevator and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

Chloe followed, carrying the two small bags and smiling as she watched the two of them. 

Oliver glanced at her as they stepped onto the elevator and it began to ascend. “Love you,” he whispered.

“Love you too,” she whispered back to him, leaning closer and pressing a kiss to his shoulder as she reached to brush Carter’s hair from his face gently. 

He smiled softly and kissed her temple.

She wrapped her arm around his back and leaned against his side, rubbing his back gently and letting out a breath when the elevator came to a stop. 

Oliver glanced at her, winked, then slowly carried Carter off through the living room and down the hallway, into his bedroom. He gently placed him on the mattress and pulled the covers up and over him, leaning down and kissing his forehead before gazing at him for a long moment. Then he turned to see Chloe standing in the doorway, and he smiled softly, heading toward her.

Chloe held out her hands to him and smiled back, her eyes bright as she watched him. 

He took her hands, squeezing them gently as he followed her out the door and pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

She closed her eyes and smiled, then lifted her head and kissed him softly, “you’re amazing with him,” she whispered.

“I guess the whole dad thing suits me?” He smiled, winding his arms around her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and nodded, “best dad ever.”

“That’s only fitting, considering I’m married to the best mom and best _wife_ ever,” he told her, kissing her mouth softly.

Chloe grinned softly and kissed him back for a moment before pulling away, “this way,” she said quietly, pulling him toward the living room rather than the bedroom.

He arched his eyebrows at that, following her. 

“Hal is flying Zatanna in,” she explained, smiling up at him.

He blinked at that, surprised. “Oh. Why didn’t she just blink her eyes or whatever?” 

“That’s what I was wondering too,” she shrugged a little, “she said he offered.”

“Oh.” He shrugged, as well, pausing as he heard the elevator dinged. 

She kissed him quickly once more before pulling away and turning toward the elevator.

Oliver held his breath as Hal and Zatanna stepped inside a moment later. He chewed the inside of his cheek, nodding at them in greeting. “Hey.” 

“Hey,” Zatanna greeted, glancing over at Hal and smiling a little, shaking her head as she moved away from him.

“Thank you for coming,” Chloe said, smiling at Zatanna then slightly at Hal. 

Hal nodded and smiled back, then looked at Zatanna again.

“Well, let’s see what we can do about getting your memory back. Chloe said J’onn tried but didn’t quite succeed.” Zatanna raised her eyebrows. 

“Yeah, and he didn’t have a lot of time either, with everything...” Chloe told her.

Oliver nodded, pursing his lips. 

Zatanna looked between them and reached out, touching Oliver’s temple with one hand and then Chloe’s with the other.

Chloe frowned at that and arched her eyebrows, “what are you doing?”

“Trust me,” she said softly, offering her a small smile. “Close your eyes.” 

She glanced at Ollie and took a deep breath then let it out as she closed her eyes. 

Hal stepped back and watched, smirking slightly.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes and jolting when a wave of emotion--fear, despair, confusion--washed over him. Unconsciously, he reached out and grabbed Chloe’s hand.

She gasped and closed her eyes tightly as she grabbed his hand too, suddenly feeling lost and desperate, like she couldn’t stop until it was done. What, she didn’t know.

Memories spun through his mind suddenly, visions of a much less friendly world than the one they resided in--a world where Clark wanted him dead, where it had very nearly happened several times. Memories of Tess showing up, of them planning to get him home. Visions of sleepless nights alone and missing Chloe so badly it _hurt_. 

Chloe tried to shift closer to him but she couldn’t move. She was feeling _everything_ and she could see it too. She could see what he had gone through, where he’d been and what he’d done. And she could see how much he had been hurting.

And then it was over. 

Oliver felt breathless, like he’d run miles in a very short amount of time. He felt overwhelmed, but also relieved when he realized he’d felt everything Chloe had felt while he’d been gone. And the images of Hal and Chloe together--which thankfully didn’t go too in depth--also relieved him because he felt her emotions toward Hal--that she cared for him, but she wasn’t in love with him. She’d never been in love with him. 

Chloe blinked, her eyes teary as she opened them, her face wet and she hadn’t even realized she’d been crying. She turned her head and even though she felt disorientate, she found him instantly and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He shuddered, hugging her back as he fell silent, holding her tightly. 

Zatanna smiled softly, glancing at Hal and laying a hand on his arm, arching her eyebrows a little. 

She hid her face against his neck, sobbing quietly as she clung to him as tightly as she could, feeling overwhelmed and equally relieved that despite everything they had just felt and seen, they were both there. 

Hal nodded and picked up Zatanna, glancing at Chloe and Oliver before flying her out of the apartment through the balcony. 

Oliver pressed a soft kiss against her cheek, tightening his arms around her even more. “It’s okay,” he murmured soothingly, rubbing her back. 

“Yeah,” she whispered, nodding a little and kissing his cheek too, then pressing her nose against his. “You’re back.”

“I am,” he whispered, tangling one hand in her hair. 

“I saw it,” she told him, curling her fingers around his shirt, “all of it.”

“Me too.” He held his breath. “And I felt everything.” 

“I did too,” she breathed, looking up at him, her eyes teary. “All over again.”

“But we’re together now,” he whispered, cupping her cheek.

Chloe nodded, leaning into his touch and then, without warning she pushed herself up and wrapped her legs around him.

He caught her instantly, sensing her actions even as she moved, his eyes darkening a little as he held her against him. “Hello, Mrs. Queen,” he murmured.

“Let’s go to bed,” she whispered to him, holding his gaze as she kept her arms and legs tight around him.

Oliver smiled at her, nodding ever-so-slightly. 

It was good to be back.


End file.
